Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk is a professional boxer, absolute world champion in the first heavyweight (2018 – 2019) and heavyweight (2024).
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on January 17, 1987 in Simferopol, where he received his secondary education.
After that, he studied at the Lviv State University of Physical Culture.
Amateur career
Usyk started boxing at the age of 15. In 2006, he took part in the European Championship, where he managed to reach the semifinals.
In 2008, he won the Strange Cup at a tournament held in Bulgaria.
In February of the same year, by decision of the Olympic Committee, he was sent to the city of Roseto degli Abruzzi, Italy, where he won the fights against Elchan Alizaldi from Azerbaijan and Danny Price from Great Britain.
In the same year, he took part in the Summer Olympics held in Beijing. In the first fight, he defeated the representative of China Yushan Nyati, but in the next fight he lost to the Italian boxer Clemente Russo.
After the defeat at the 2008 Olympic Games, Usyk decided to move to the light heavyweight category, where he became the winner of the European Championship in the same year.
However, he soon returned to heavyweight and won a silver medal at the World Cup.
The following year, he performed at the World Championships, where he reached the semifinals, but lost to boxer Yegor Mekhontsev, winning a bronze medal.
2011 was a landmark year for Usyk – he won gold at the World Championships, defeating Russian Artur Beterbiev in the quarterfinals, and defeated the representative of Azerbaijan Teymur Mammadov in the final.
On August 11, 2012, he became the Olympic champion, winning a gold medal at the Games in London. In the final fight, he took revenge on the Italian Clemente Russo, whom he lost at the 2008 Olympics. In addition to a bright victory, he was remembered by the audience for the fact that after the fight he performed a hopak right in the ring.
Professional boxing
In October 2012, Usyk, together with Vasyl Lomachenko, officially completed their performances in amateur boxing. After signing a contract with the semi-professional boxing league World Series of Boxing (WSB), they joined the newly created club “Ukrainian Atamans”.
In September 2013, the boxer signed an agreement with the promotional company K2 Promotions, which opened the way for him to professional boxing. Already on November 9 of the same year, he made his debut in the professional ring in the first heavyweight division. His preparation was taken up by the American coach James Ali Bashir, who worked in Wladimir Klitschko’s team.
On October 4, 2014, he had his first title fight, in which he competed for the vacant Intercontinental Champion belt according to the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Usyk defeated South African rival Daniel Brewer, ending the fight with a knockout in the seventh round.
On April 18, 2015, he successfully defended his title in a fight against Russian Andrei Knyazev. A few months later, on August 29, he again defended the championship belt, defeating another boxer from South Africa – Johnny Muller.
In September of the same year, Usyk topped the World Boxing Organization (WBO) ranking among heavyweight boxers. A month later, he was awarded the title of Intercontinental Boxer of the Year.
On December 12, he again confirmed his status as a champion, successfully defending the WBO Intercontinental Champion title in a duel with Cuban boxer Pedro Rodriguez.
On July 22, 2018, he won one of the most high-profile victories of his career, winning the final of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS). In a duel with Murat Gasiev from Russia, Usyk won the absolute championship in the first heavyweight, combining all the main titles. To the existing WBO belt, which he won back in 2016, the world titles according to the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Association (WBA) were added. In addition, he became the owner of the World Boxing Council (WBC) championship belt, the Muhammad Ali Cup and the title of champion according to the prestigious boxing publication The Ring.
At the beginning of 2019, he announced his transition to the heavyweight category.
On September 25, 2021, a heavyweight title fight took place in London, at the home stadium of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Usyk met with British boxer Anthony Joshua, who at that time owned four championship belts. Usyk had a confident fight, as a result of which the judges unanimously gave him the victory. The boxer won four heavyweight championship titles.
On August 27, 2023, he defended his championship belts in a duel against Briton Daniel Dubois. The fight took place in the heavyweight category (over 90,7 kilograms), and Usyk won again, retaining the WBA, WBO and IBF world titles.
On May 19, 2024, the Ukrainian boxer met in the ring with Tyson Fury, who at that time owned the World Boxing Council (WBC) belt. Usyk defeated the Briton and became the absolute world champion.
On December 21, 2024, a rematch between Usyk and Fury took place. At the end of 12 rounds, the judges unanimously gave the victory to the Ukrainian boxer with a score of 116:112. Usyk confirmed his status as the strongest heavyweight fighter in the world, defending the WBC, WBA Super, WBO and IBO championship titles.
Marital Status
He is married to Kateryna Usyk. The couple has four children – Elizabeth, Cyril, Mikhail and Maria.
