Oleksandr Usyk

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Oleksandrovych and the family name is Usyk.

Oleksandr Usyk Олександр Усик
Usyk in 2022
Born	17 January 1987 (age 37) Simferopol, Crimean Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Other names	The Cat
Statistics
Weight(s)	Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Reach	198 cm (78 in)
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	22
Wins	22
Wins by KO	14
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Ukraine Olympic Games 2012 London Heavyweight World Championships 2011 Baku Heavyweight 2009 Milan Heavyweight European Championships 2008 Liverpool Light-heavyweight 2006 Plovdiv Middleweight World Cup 2008 Moscow Heavyweight Strandzha Cup 2008 Plovdiv Light-heavyweight

Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Усик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He is the undisputed heavyweight champion, holding the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO titles since 2021, the Ring magazine title since 2022, and the WBC title since 2024. Previously, he held the undisputed^[a] cruiserweight championship from 2018 to 2019. In both the heavyweight and cruiserweight divisions, he is the first boxer to hold all four major world titles.

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).^[2][3][4]

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.

Usyk is only the third male boxer in history (following Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue) to become the undisputed champion in two weight classes in the four-belt era, he is the only one to do so at cruiserweight and is the only undisputed heavyweight champion in 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.

Amateur career

At the 2006 European Championships he won his first three matches but lost in the semi-final to Matvey Korobov.

He then moved up to light-heavyweight later and won the Strandja Cup in 2008.

Usyk in 2012

In February 2008, he moved up another weight class and was sent to the Olympic qualifier in Roseto degli Abruzzi replacing European Champion Denys Poyatsyka. There he defeated world class Azeri Elchin Alizade and Daniel Price.

At the 2008 Olympic Games, Usyk outpointed Yushan Nijiati by 23–4, but lost to Clemente Russo by 4–7 in the quarter-final.

He dropped down to light-heavyweight and won gold at the 2008 European Championships, but later moved back up to heavyweight. At the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships he defeated Artur Beterbiev and Teymur Mammadov to win the heavyweight title and qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Usyk won the gold medal, outpointing Artur Beterbiev, Tervel Pulev and Italy's Clemente Russo, outscoring him by 6–3 in the final.

Usyk retired from amateur boxing with a record of 335−15.

Prior to turning professional, he competed in the heavyweight division (91+ kg) of the 2012–13 World Series of Boxing (WSB), as part of team Ukraine Otamans, winning all six of his bouts with two by stoppage (Junior Fa by UD, Eric Brechlin by 3rd-round TKO, Joe Joyce by UD, Magomedrasul Majidov by UD, Matteo Modugno by 2nd-round TKO and Mihai Nistor by UD).

Professional career

Early career

Usyk turned pro in late 2013 at the age of 26 and signed a promotional deal with the Klitschko brothers' K2 Promotions, fighting in the cruiserweight division.

On 9 November 2013 Usyk made his professional debut by defeating Mexican fighter Felipe Romero via a fifth-round knockout. The following month he stopped 38 year old Epifanio Mendoza in four rounds. In his third professional fight on 26 April 2014, Usyk made his debut in Germany on the undercard of Klitschko-Leapai at the Koenig Pilsener Arena, defeating Ben Nsafoah via third-round knockout. A month later, Usyk returned home and scored a fourth-round knockout-victory over Argentine Cesar David Crenz.

Rise up the ranks

Usyk's fight with Andrey Knyazev attracted 3.6 million viewers on Ukrainian television..

Usyk won his first title on 4 October 2014, after beating South African boxer Daniel Bruwer via seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) for the interim WBO Inter-Continental cruiserweight title. Usyk defended the title two months later, stopping 35 year old Danie Venter in the ninth-round. Usyk was ahead on all three judges' scorecards at the time of stoppage.

Usyk made another defence on 18 April 2015, against former Russian cruiserweight champion Andrey Knyazev (11–1, 6 KOs) in Kyiv. After seven one-sided rounds, referee Mickey Vann finally stopped the fight in round eight after deciding Knyazev had taken too much punishment. This win kept Usyk on course to a WBO title fight against then champion Marco Huck.

On 29 August 2015, Usyk defeated former South African light heavyweight champion Johnny Muller via third-round TKO at the Sport Palace in Kyiv, which saw Usyk control the fight with a jab. Usyk knocked down Muller twice in round three and although Muller protested, the referee waved the fight off with one second of the round left.

Usyk made a fourth and final defense against unknown Cuban boxer Pedro Rodriguez in a scheduled 12-round fight on 12 December at the Sport Palace. Usyk won the fight scoring, his ninth straight knockout in as many fights, first dropping Rodriguez in round six with an uppercut before the fight was stopped in round seven, being knocked down again, although he beat the count. This win put Usyk at the WBO's number 1 position, with a World title fight on the cards for 2016.