As the brave soldiers battled on the front line, the battlefield radios buzzed with static. These courageous individuals, defending Ukraine against the invading Russian forces, were awaiting their next instructions or alerts of incoming missiles on the night of 18 May this year.
They are hailed as national heroes, risking their lives to safeguard their borders from Vladimir Putin’s troops. Oleksandr Usyk understands this all too well, having friends on the front lines and having witnessed the horrors himself.
However, life also carries on beyond the grim reality of war, and they were also anticipating news from their hero Usyk’s different kind of battle that night against Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. “I will tell you one story,” said 37-year-old Usyk when asked if he had spoken to those at war since his victory over Fury.
“There is the frontline where the fighting is taking place. And the guys on the second line, they have special communications connecting them to the frontline of the battlefield. They have nicknames like, ‘Rocket, Rocket, can you hear me? ‘ The intonation when they first took the phone, they were like, ‘Yes, yes, what’s going on? What do we need to do? ’ [thinking it was an emergency], but then they got the information that Usyk was the undisputed champion and they started cheering like, ‘Oh yeah! Okay!’”
In what must have been an incredibly poignant time for those yearning for a glimmer of hope amidst the trenches, the hard truth remains that Usyk could return to his loved ones after his victories, yet cannot take them back to their Ukrainian home. His partner, Yekaterina, along with their children Mykhailo, Kyrylo, and Yelizaveta, had to leave Ukraine in light of the current crisis, with Usyk keeping their whereabouts under wraps for safety.
At ringside, Yekaterina witnessed Usyk best Fury, marking his first loss and allowing Usyk to claim the title of undisputed heavyweight champion—a moment they celebrated away from the public eye where their children who had been nervously watching on television at their temporary abode. “They were very afraid and nervous, my two boys and my daughter,” Usyk commented.
Yet, upon seeing their father again, the children’s spirits lifted. “They said that I am now a real legend,” recounted the unassuming former cruiserweight champion, though he modestly disagreed, “I said ‘Mhm, no’. They said, ‘yeah, yeah’.”
The humility with which Usyk views his achievements was evident when boxing icon Lennox Lewis, the last man before Usyk to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in 1999, visited Usyk’s training camp in Spain prior to the much-awaited rematch with Fury in Riyadh. Despite taking the heavyweight crown by defeating Fury earlier in May, the reigning champ was honoured and seemingly starstruck in the presence of his esteemed predecessor.
“It was great,” Usyk expressed. “Once I watched his fight on TV. Now, Lennox Lewis is in my camp, watching my sparring. I said, ‘Wow, hey Lennox. You miss boxing, you miss preparing?’ ‘Yeah, of course.’
“Listen, it was great. I made a poster. I said, ‘Hey champ, please will you sign for both of my sons’. The father of my wife said ‘Oh my God, Lennox Lewis, please get a signature and a photo’.”
Perhaps Lewis should have asked for Usyk’s autograph. “Just my t-shirt,” he quipped with a smile. It’s an extreme display of humility for Usyk not to consider himself a legend despite being an Olympic gold medallist, world and European champion as an amateur, and the undisputed king at both cruiserweight and heavyweight without a defeat in 22 professional fights. And clearly an inspiration to those in his homeland trying to resist Russia. “Legend,” he stated. “It’s very high-class. I don’t like it. I like to just be a simple guy. I don’t want other people to put me as an icon. I don’t need it.”
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