Who Is Oleksandr Usyk? War-Torn Ukraine’s First Undisputed Heavyweight Champion In 24 years

Oleksandr Usyk participated in two Olympics in 2008 (Beijing) and 2012 (London). He won boxing gold in London.

New Delhi: Oleksandr Usyk overcame a major height disadvantage against Tyson Fury to become the world’s first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years. Usyk defeated Fury by split decision on Sunday, knocking down his hulking opponent in the ninth round and eventually earning a narrow win on two scorecards. The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first heavyweight to hold every major title belt since Lennox Lewis. Usyk (22-0) added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a spectacular late-round rally in a back-and-forth matchup between two previously unbeaten champions from a strong era of heavyweight boxing. Two judges favored Usyk, 115-112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113.

Born in Simferopol to parents originally from northern Ukraine, Usyk played football until the age of 15 before switching to boxing in 2002. In terms of education, Usyk completed his graduation from Lviv State University in Physical Culture. He came into limelight when Usyk won his first three matches at the 2006 European Championships but lost in the semifinal.

Two years later, Usyk won the Strandja Cup in 2008 before representing his country at the Beijing Olympics the same year. At the Olympics, Usyk outclassed Yushan Nijiati by 23–4, but lost to Clemente Russo by 4–7 in the quarterfinals. He qualified for the 2012 London Olympics after winning the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships.

Oleksandr Usyk Won Gold At London Olympics

In London, Usyk defeated Artur Beterbiev, Tervel Pulev and Italy’s Clemente Russo en route to his maiden Olympics gold medal. He retired from amateur boxing in with a 335-15 win-loss record and turned pro in 2013 at the age of 26.

Usyk won his first world title in his 10th fight and became the undisputed champion in his weight clash five fights later. In 2019, he let go his cruiserweight titles to move into heavyweight. By then, he had defeated five then-current or former world champions in his 16 fights.

His one of the major accomplishments came in 2021 when he defeated Anthony Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles. Usyk is the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis held the honor for five months in 1999 and 2000. He is also now the lineal heavyweight champion by beating Fury, who beat Wladimir Klitschko to earn that distinction in 2015.

Usyk has now joined the elite club of fighters who held every major world championship belt at heavyweight — and he is the first to do it in the four-belt era, which began in 2007. The list of undisputed champions includes Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson.

Usyk’s Victory A Win For Ukraine

Meanwhile, Usyk’s victory has brought some ray of light to the war-torn Ukraine as the people of the country view his win as a big symbolic achievement. Usyk stated the win belongs to his country. “It’s for my God, my supporters, my country, the Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian mothers and fathers, children,” he said.