Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk

From a young age, Oleksandr Usyk showed great potential in sport. Born on January 17, 1987 in Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Usyk initially gravitated towards soccer.

However, at the age of 15, he decided to change course and entered the world of boxing.

His amateur career was truly outstanding, accumulating a total of 350 fights. But the crowning moment came at the 2012 London Olympics, where he won the gold medal in the heavyweight category. This achievement marked a turning point in his life, and he decided to make the leap to the pro ranks.

Oleksandr Usyk debuted as a professional boxer in November 2013 and has since built an impressive undefeated record. With a total of 22 fights, he has achieved 22 victories, of which 14 have been by knockout.

In 2018, Usyk won the famous World Boxing Super Series tournament that featured all the world cruiserweight champions as well as great exponents. Usyk defeated Marco Huck, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev, to become undisputed cruiserweight champion.

After moving up a division to heavyweight, in 2021 he had his big opportunity when he faced former champion Anthony Joshua, defeating him by decision to become WBO, WBA and IBF world champion, before 70,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.

The only title he was missing was the Green and Gold of the WBC and he achieved this on May 18 by defeating Tyson Fury by decision at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fury found success in the early rounds, corralling Usyk with sweeping right hands, uppercuts and body shots. But Usyk surprised Fury with a big left hand in the ninth round, sending him reeling against the ropes. A series of subsequent powerful punches, punctuated by a high-angled left, sent Fury reeling into a neutral corner. Referee Mark Nelson called it a knockdown, and Fury cautiously recovered.

Fury fought back, but the tide had turned. Usyk at full speed, picking up the pace against the giant, winning rounds 10 and 11 on two of the scorecards to secure the victory.