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The world according to Oleksandr The Great ‘is one huge psychiatric clinic filled with a lot of crazy people needing help.’
A look inside the kaleidoscopic mind of the maestro of the noble art who fights for his country as well as for boxing’s supreme crown is one of this sporting life’s most fascinating experiences.
It’s not all about what he needs to do to defeat Daniel Dubois at Wembley stadium this Saturday night to become the only two-time undisputed world heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Not by any means. More about how he got here. Why millions lose their mental capacities when their dreams fade into obscurity. And how his journey can inspire others born into similarly deprived circumstances to rise from the quagmire of poverty.
Oleksandr Usyk’s thoughts shift focus 2,000 miles from London to his home town in Crimea. And three decades back in time. To Simferopol which he describes as ‘the very small city where I was born which most people never find a way to leave.’
Dubois, London’s shareholder in the world titles all of which one of them is about to unify, is sitting in an adjoining room talking about ‘bringing violent chaos’ to the Stadium over the road as Usyk recalls: ‘We were ten boys kicking a ball around a yard. We all had our dreams. I am the only one who achieved them. The one who realised in time that only very hard work could make something of myself.. The only one who moved out into the wider world.’
Unified heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk detailed his experiences growing up in a small Crimean village
The 38-year-old reflected on being the only one of his childhood friends to have achieved his aspirations
So what has become of the rest of them?
‘Some I visit, still there, when I go home,’ Then he points across the room saying: 'That one, my old friend, travels with me as a member of my team.’ Then he adds, ruefully: ’Some are no longer with us.’
Clearly that is an oblique reference to comrades who have fallen on the battlefield which his country has become.
Usyk no longer talks about the war with Russia as often nor in as much depth as he used to.
His feelings about the horrors he has witnessed as a volunteer soldier and the madness which might qualify Vladimir Putin for treatment in his global clinic are well documented.
It is a future beyond the conflict which is on his mind now. For the soldiers he helps already with generous donations from the fortune he has amassed in the prize-ring. Not least for his family who are his principal reason, at 38, for holding back retirement from the hardest game.
‘When I was a boy there was no butter to put on our bread,’ he says. ‘I am making sure that my children (two boys, two girls) and our next generations will have more than butter to spread.’
But that will not absolve them from the work ethic with which he has made the good life possible. Of his two sons, he says: ‘The eldest wants to become a world champion at judo. The youngest sees himself following me as a world boxing champion. I have told them I can help but only hard work will make it happen.
On Saturday, Usyk will rematch Daniel Dubois in a bid to become the first two-time undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era
When the pair first met in 2023, Dubois dropped Usyk with a low blow before the Ukranian climbed off the canvas to secure a stoppage victory
Dubois rebounded well from the defeat and enters Saturday's showdown off the biggest win of his career to date
‘I tell them never to put off to tomorrow. I make them write down on paper what they will be doing today. That concentrates their minds. So important. That one small thing makes up about 20 per cent of what is needed tor success. This is one big thing I say to everyone who needs help and asks me to show them the way through the madness.’
Usyk’s generosity of guidance extends to opponents striving to bring down the curtain on his undefeated record and in so doing remove his world titles. Including Dubois in their rematch this weekend.
He refers to their first fight – in Poland two summers ago – when young Daniel thought he had sprung the surprise of the century by landing a body blow which was ruled low by the referee before Usyk stopped him in the ninth round: ‘Before the fight I warned Daniel he would be finished if he lost to me. After I beat him I told him that if he worked even harder he could come back stronger.’
Dubois responded by turning British boxing on its head by destroying Anthony Joshua and thus grasping the IBF belt. Now 27, could Dynamite Daniel be the monster of Usyk’s own creation? The battle-hardened retainer of the WBC, WBA and WBO titles has this to say when told Dubois is now threatening that violent chaos: 'I don’t listen to things like this. I see no bad in anyone. I am cold. The iceman.’
A chilling message from another element of the high intellect which is the command centre for the most advanced boxing technician of the modern era. An accolade to which he responds by acknowledging the hefty punching power of Dubois but saying: ‘No matter how hard they hit, nobody can break this brain.’
Not before ‘two more fights’ to secure the future of a lot of people. He adds: ‘I continue my career beyond this Saturday because I must keep paying for many who are around me.’ He speaks of the entourage who trail behind his Rolls Royce in black limousines as they sight-see in London. Albeit refraining from ‘drinking your lovely English tea because I have to sleep at night’.
And what of his own future beyond the allure of the arc-lights, the adrenalin thrill of the fight, the roar of the crowd?
‘Training young boxers,’ he answers. ‘Helping anyone who feels the need to call me amid the craziness of life.’
But what if there were no boxing? A pause before he identifies these three career options: ‘Music, movies, jail.’
Odd and extreme the last one? Well, that might depend on who wins the war.
