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Oleksandr Usyk facts for kids

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Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Usyk seated, wearing a microphone
Usyk in 2022
Statistics
Nickname(s) The Cat
Rated at
  • Cruiserweight
  • Heavyweight
Height 1.91 m
Reach 198 cm
Born (1987-01-17) 17 January 1987 (age 38)
Simferopol, Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights 23
Wins 23
Wins by KO 14
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Ukraine
Olympic Games
Gold 2012 London Heavyweight
World Championships
Gold 2011 Baku Heavyweight
Bronze 2009 Milan Heavyweight
European Olympic Qualifying
Silver 2008 Roseto degli Abruzzi–Pescara Heavyweight
European Championships
Gold 2008 Liverpool Light-heavyweight
Bronze 2006 Plovdiv Middleweight
World Cup
Silver 2008 Moscow Heavyweight
Strandzha Cup
Gold 2008 Plovdiv Light-heavyweight

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Усик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the unified world heavyweight championship since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022. He held the undisputed championship in two weight classes—cruiserweight and heavyweight—and is the third male boxer in history (after Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue) to become a two-weight undisputed champion in the "four-belt era".

Early life

Usyk was born in Simferopol, Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union on 17 January 1987, to parents originally from northern Ukraine. His mother was born in the Chernihiv region (in the village of Rybotyn, Korop Raion), while his father was a native of Sumy. His mother worked in construction and moved to Simferopol to study. His father was a military man who passed through Afghanistan, working as a security guard in Crimea, and the two met there.

He is the first born of his family and he has two siblings. Until age 15, he played football and was trained at the SC Tavriya Simferopol specialized sports school of Olympic reserve (club's football academy). In 2002 Usyk switched to boxing. He is a graduate of Lviv State University of Physical Culture.

Career

As an amateur, Usyk won heavyweight gold medals at the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics, He turned professional in 2013, and won the undisputed cruiserweight championship in his 15th professional fight in 2018. Three of his titles were won during the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, in which he won the Muhammad Ali Trophy, as well as the Ring and lineal cruiserweight titles. For his achievements, Usyk was named the 2018 Fighter of the Year by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

In 2018 Usyk became the fourth male boxer in history to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles, after Jermain Taylor, Bernard Hopkins and Terence Crawford. He was the first Ukrainian undisputed champion. He is particularly notable for the speed of his accomplishments, winning his first world title in his tenth fight, and becoming the undisputed champion of his weight class by his fifteenth fight. Usyk vacated his cruiserweight titles in 2019 to move up to heavyweight. By that point, in sixteen fights he had defeated five current or former world champions. In September 2021, Usyk defeated unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles. He defended the titles in a rematch against Joshua in August 2022, whilst winning the vacant Ring title, and defeated Tyson Fury in May 2024 to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in four belt era.

Personal life

Oleksandr Usyk and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Ukraine on 31 December 2024
Usyk with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on New Year's Eve 2024

Usyk is married and has three children. They live in Kyiv, Ukraine.

His wife has Russian citizenship and the boxer uses Russian as his first language. On 28 April 2014, after the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, Usyk declared he would never exchange his Ukrainian citizenship for Russian citizen.

Usyk is an Orthodox Christian. After his fight against Anthony Joshua, he said in an interview, "The only thing I wanted to do with this fight is to give praise to my Lord Jesus Christ and to say that all comes from him."

On 26 February 2022, Usyk urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to call off Russia's invasion of Ukraine that had begun on 24 February. A few days later, Usyk, fellow boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko and Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov travelled to Ukraine to join the country's territorial defense forces, although in late March, Usyk left Ukraine to train for his rematch with Anthony Joshua.

In 2022, he became a co-founder and brand ambassador of the Ready to Fight - international blockchain platform, whose mission is to make building a boxing career easier and more accessible by creating effective connections between athletes, managers, agents, doctors and other specialized professionals, as well as sports services, infrastructure and fans.

In 2023, Usyk signed a one-year professional contract with Ukrainian Premier League team FC Polissya Zhytomyr. He was given the number 17. He previously made a substitute appearance for the club in the 76th minute of a 2–1 friendly win over Veres in February 2022. Usyk has stated he intends to play football after he retires from boxing.

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
23 fights 23 wins 0 losses
By knockout 14 0
By decision 9 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
23 Win 23–0 Tyson Fury UD 12 21 Dec 2024 Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Retained WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles
22 Win 22–0 Tyson Fury SD 12 18 May 2024 Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Retained WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles;
Won WBC heavyweight title
21 Win 21–0 Daniel Dubois KO 9 (12), 1:48 26 Aug 2023 Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland Retained WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles
20 Win 20–0 Anthony Joshua SD 12 20 Aug 2022 King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Retained WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles;
Won vacant The Ring heavyweight title
19 Win 19–0 Anthony Joshua UD 12 25 Sep 2021 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England Won WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles
18 Win 18–0 Derek Chisora UD 12 31 Oct 2020 The SSE Arena, London, England Won WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
17 Win 17–0 Chazz Witherspoon RTD 7 (12), 3:00 12 Oct 2019 Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois, US
16 Win 16–0 Tony Bellew KO 8 (12), 2:00 10 Nov 2018 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Retained WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
15 Win 15–0 Murat Gassiev UD 12 21 Jul 2018 Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia Retained WBC and WBO cruiserweight titles;
Won WBA (Super), IBF and vacant The Ring cruiserweight titles;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight final
14 Win 14–0 Mairis Briedis MD 12 27 Jan 2018 Arēna Rīga, Riga, Latvia Retained WBO cruiserweight title;
Won WBC cruiserweight title;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight semi-final
13 Win 13–0 Marco Huck TKO 10 (12), 2:12 9 Sep 2017 Max-Schmeling-Halle, Berlin, Germany Retained WBO cruiserweight title;
World Boxing Super Series: cruiserweight quarter-final
12 Win 12–0 Michael Hunter UD 12 8 Apr 2017 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, US Retained WBO cruiserweight title
11 Win 11–0 Thabiso Mchunu TKO 9 (12), 1:53 17 Dec 2016 The Forum, Inglewood, California, US Retained WBO cruiserweight title
10 Win 10–0 Krzysztof Głowacki UD 12 17 Sep 2016 Ergo Arena, Gdańsk, Poland Won WBO cruiserweight title
9 Win 9–0 Pedro Rodriguez TKO 7 (12), 1:57 12 Dec 2015 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
8 Win 8–0 Johnny Muller TKO 3 (12), 2:59 29 Aug 2015 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
7 Win 7–0 Andrey Knyazev TKO 8 (10), 2:24 18 Apr 2015 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
6 Win 6–0 Danie Venter TKO 9 (10), 2:29 13 Dec 2014 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine Retained WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
5 Win 5–0 Daniel Bruwer TKO 7 (10), 2:55 4 Oct 2014 Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine Won vacant WBO interim Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
4 Win 4–0 Cesar David Crenz KO 4 (8), 2:19 31 May 2014 Sports Palace, Odesa, Ukraine
3 Win 3–0 Ben Nsafoah KO 3 (8), 1:43 26 Apr 2014 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany
2 Win 2–0 Epifanio Mendoza TKO 4 (6), 2:10 7 Dec 2013 Ice Arena TEC Terminal, Brovary, Ukraine
1 Win 1–0 Felipe Romero TKO 5 (6), 1:36 9 Nov 2013 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine

World Series of Boxing record

Professional record summary
6 fights 6 wins 0 losses
By knockout 2 0
By decision 4 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
6 Win 6–0 Mihai Nistor UD 5 10 May 2013 Saryarka Velodrome, Astana, Kazakhstan
5 Win 5–0 Matteo Modugno TKO 2 (5), 1:57 13 Apr 2013 Casinò di Campione, Campione d'Italia, Italy
4 Win 4–0 Magomedrasul Majidov UD 5 22 Mar 2013 Palace of Sports, Kyiv, Ukraine
3 Win 3–0 Joe Joyce UD 5 1 Mar 2013 York Hall, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Eric Brechlin TKO 3 (5), 1:30 1 Feb 2013 ACCO International Exhibition Center, Kyiv, Ukraine
1 Win 1–0 Junior Fa UD 5 11 Jan 2013 ACCO International Exhibition Center, Kyiv, Ukraine

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

  • WBA (Super) cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • WBC cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • IBF cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • WBO cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • WBA (Super) heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
  • WBC heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
  • IBF heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)
  • WBO heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

The Ring magazine titles

  • The Ring cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • The Ring heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Minor world titles

  • IBO heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Regional/International titles

  • WBO interim Inter-Continental cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight champion (200 lbs)
  • WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Undisputed titles

  • Undisputed cruiserweight champion
  • Undisputed heavyweight champion

Honorary titles

  • WBA Man of Triumph Gold champion
  • WBC Diamond cruiserweight champion
  • WBO Super Champion
  • WBC cruiserweight champion-in-recess
  • WBC Undisputed I champion
  • WBC Rumble in the Jungle champion

Awards

  • Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Sugar Ray Robinson Award Fighter of the Year: 2018
  • Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) John McCain-Bill Crawford Courage Award: 2022
  • The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • The Ring magazine Event of the Year: 2024
  • The Ring magazine Round of the Year: 2024
  • Muhammad Ali Trophy: 2018
  • ESPN Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • ESPN Fight of the Year: 2024
  • WBC Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • WBC Knockout of the Year: 2018
  • WBA Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • WBA Boxer of the Month: July 2018, September 2021
  • WBO Fighter of the Year: 2022, 2024
  • WBO Fight of the Year: 2022, 2024
  • WBO Intercontinental Fighter of the Year: 2015
  • Sports Illustrated's Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • Sports Illustrated’s Fight of the Year: 2024
  • CBS Sports Boxer of the Year: 2018
  • CBS Sports Fighter of the Year: 2024
  • CBS Sports Fight of the Year: 2024
  • Yahoo! Sports Fighter of the Year: 2018
  • Uncrowned’s Male Fighter of the Year: 2024
  • Sporting News’ Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • Los Angeles Daily News Fighter of the Year: 2018
  • WBN Fighter of the Year: 2022, 2024
  • WBN Fight of the Year: 2024
  • WBN World Title Prospect of the Year: 2016
  • The RING 8 Historical Award: 2018
  • FanSided Fighter of the Year: 2018
  • Boxing Insider's Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • Boxing News’ Fighter of the Year: 2024
  • The Sweet Science (TSS) Fighter of the Year: 2024
  • BoxingScene's Fighter of the Year: 2018, 2024
  • The Queensberry Rules Fighter of the Year: 2018

Viewership

Pay-per-view bouts

No. Date Fight Country Network Buys Source(s)
1 10 November 2018 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew
United Kingdom
Sky Box Office
819,000
2 31 October 2020 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Derek Chisora
United Kingdom
Sky Box Office
1,059,000
Ukraine
MEGOGO
100,000
3 25 September 2021 Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk
United Kingdom
Sky Box Office
1,232,000
4 22 August 2022 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II
United Kingdom
Sky Box Office
1,249,000
5 26 August 2023 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois
United Kingdom
TNT Sports Box Office
6 18 May 2024 Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk
Worldwide
DAZN PPV, PPV.com, ESPN+ PPV, Sky Box Office, TNT Sports Box Office
1,500,000
7 21 December 2024 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury II
Worldwide
DAZN PPV, Sky Box Office, TNT Sports Box Office
Total sales 5,959,000

International

No. Date Fight Country Network Viewers Source
1 20 August 2022 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II Ukraine MEGOGO 1,500,000
Total viewership 1,500,000

Filmography

Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released
Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2016 The Fight Rules Professional Boxer
2018 The Stolen Princess “Sholom” (Troyeschyna gangster)
2024 A Tale As Old As Time: Ring of Fire Himself Promotional short film
2024 Reignited - Can’t Get You Out of My Head Himself Promotional short film
2025 The Smashing Machine Not yet released Igor Vovchanchyn

Podcasts

Air Date Title Notes Ref
January 20, 2025 The Ring Podcast Exclusive guest
Video games
Year Title Role Ref.
2024 Undisputed Himself

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Oleksandr Usyk para niños

  • List of WBA world champions
  • List of WBC world champions
  • List of IBF world champions
  • List of WBO world champions
  • List of IBO world champions
  • List of The Ring world champions
  • List of world cruiserweight boxing champions
  • List of world heavyweight boxing champions
  • List of undisputed world boxing champions
  • Boxing at the 2012 Summer Olympics
  • List of Olympic medalists in boxing
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