myself even harder. I started studying myself and understood the difference between life and boxing. And the next Olympic games, because of my hard work, I won the final fight against the same Italian guy that I lost in the previous Olympic games. For the first undisputed cruiserweight fight, we were supposed to fight in Saudi Arabia, but something went wrong. But we came back six years later, more prepared, and in a better weight class, a royal weight. The Ring: You took up the sport at 15 years old. By my count, you’ve had 372 fights, amateur and professional combined. I wonder if what you fought for when you began as a boxer at 15 has changed and what it represents for you now. Usyk: No, I continue to fight because I like it. In the beginning, I was fighting to prove the people who didn’t believe in me wrong. But now, I am fighting for those who believe in me.
out to be a charlatan. Some who previously seemed weak turned out to be unbelievably brave. As for me, the war has changed me inside completely as a man. I changed. I became stronger. I don’t believe people as much, even though I continue trusting them. I started to love people even more. I became stronger here (points to his head). I wanted to say something else, even though it may sound baseless. I was never afraid of death, because it is going to come anyway. But now, I am not afraid of death at all, because it is going to come when it needs to come. When God will allow death to come to me, it will come. The Ring: Ukraine represents the role of an underdog against Russia, a smaller place fighting a large and powerful adversary. Do you identify with that? You have spoken many times about being underestimated by the public or critics and your opponents.
Usyk’s faith and courage enable him to thrive in an era of giant heavyweights.
The Ring: Is it more motivating to have people not believe in you than to have people believe in you and feel their support? Usyk: Both, both! Those who don’t believe in me motivate me the most. The Ring: How has the war in Ukraine impacted your approach to your boxing career? Usyk: The war in Ukraine has changed me completely as a person. The Ring: May I ask in what ways? Usyk: The war has opened up everyone, it has shown who is who. Who is lying, who is telling the truth, who is a good person, who is not – the war showed everyone’s cards. Who was hiding behind justice turned
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