Alexander celebrated his victory over Tyson Fury with a unique artifact in his hands.
Former coordinator of the UNITED 24 platform Yaroslava Grestold in detail how the idea of bringing Hetman Ivan Mazepa's sabre into the ring was realized after the rematch of the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBO heavyweight champion Alexander Usyk against Tyson Fury.
“The story of one sabre. There will be a longread. The media space has been buzzing for 24 hours now: Mazepa's 17th-century sabre, raised by Usyk after his victory over Fury, is everywhere. As soon as the champion raised it above his head, my phone came alive with messages. My closest friends wrote: “You definitely came up with this.” Obviously, our team is strongly associated with such ideas, and this is very nice.
In 24 hours, Google queries about who Mazepa is have increased a thousandfold. We reached the most popular American, British and Arab media, as well as media from all over the world, who applauded Usyk, Mazepa and the sabre at the press conference.
I will add a few details to the story that remained behind the scenes. How long did it take Oleksandr Usyk to decide whether he wanted/could raise the sabre of the outstanding hetman, whose name Russians have desecrated for centuries, over his head?
5 minutes. From the moment I sent him three photos with the offer from the Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum: Mazepa's sabre, Semyon Paliy's feather, and the silver Gospel. Usyk typed. “Of course, the sabre. Of course, Mazepa. Of course, we'll do it.” No hesitation. At four in the morning, after the battle, we watched the first appearances in the international media, Oleksandr smiled broadly with his satisfied Usyk-smile: “I can imagine how the Muscovites are burning now.”
How many teams worked to make this project happen? Twelve. And these were top teams. Each person did their best, because, of course, organizing a demonstration of an artifact of such a level as Mazepa's sabre is extremely difficult. At the very least because this demonstration is not in a museum, but in the ring – this is the first time in the history of Ukrainian museum practice and in the history of boxing.
Our team. The team of the Chernihiv Historical Museum. Chernihiv Regional State Administration. National Restoration Center. Teams of our Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who did everything and more. Then the baton was taken up by the Embassy in Saudi Arabia (where Ukrainian cultural values were to be demonstrated for the first time in 33 years), the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia, and the General Authority for Leisure of Saudi Arabia.
And then the SELA fight organizers began their run, who had to sign security guarantees and approve the display of 17th century cold weapons in the ring. It should be said here that Usyk's team is the same as Usyk himself. He does the impossible. He pushes to the end.
Then the Kunstrans team worked. We monitored every movement of the saber, every border it had to cross. The saber was delivered to Saudi Arabia in compliance with all regulations and under the supervision of museum specialists. After all the expert conclusions. With a bunch of documents. Our consultant and ideological inspirer in this project was Ukrainian historian Alexey Sokirko. Thanks to him.
What kind of security does the saber have? It may sound funny, but the saber was guarded by more people than Usyk himself. How many minutes passed after Alexander's victory until the saber appeared in the ring?
Nine endlessly long minutes, during which Yulia Solovey and I almost resigned ourselves to the fact that the saber would not be taken out because something had gone wrong. But then we saw the familiar black case. A minute later – a familiar outline on the red velvet. And then the blade that was once held in the hand of one of the most outstanding Ukrainian warriors was seen by the whole world. It worked.
The Usyk-Fury fight is over. And the Ukraine WOW story is just beginning. We already know what sequels the demonstration of Mazepa's sabre in the ring led to, and we think you'll like this news. Thank you to everyone who believes in creative projects, who supports Ukrainian culture, everyone who wows Ukraine at home and around the world,” Gres wrote on her Facebook page.
See also: “Usyk with Mazepa's sabre is just a blast”: social media reaction to Ukrainian's victory over Fury
Hetman Mazepa's sabre was made in the late 17th century. It is kept in Ukraine and was brought to Saudi Arabian Riyadh specifically for Usyk's fight. Its presentation is an important step in cultural diplomacy.
Earlier, Usyk himself spoke about raising Mazepa's original sabre in the ring after his victory over Fury. According to the Ukrainian boxer, it was an honor for him.
On the night of December 22, Usyk in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) defeated Fury by unanimous decision (three times 116-112) and defended his WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO world heavyweight titles.
On our website you can watch videos of the best moments of the rematch between Usyk and Fury, as well as bright photos of the fight.
Also for your attention judge notesand punch statistics of the Usyk-Fury rematch.
It should be noted that Fury did not admit defeat to Usyk, disagreeing with the judges' verdict. The Ukrainian boxer reacted categorically to these words of the “Gypsy King”.
Unlike the first fight, in the Usyk-Fury rematch the title of absolute world champion was not at stake, since Alexander had previously renounced the IBF title. Now it is owned by the Briton Daniel Dubois, who has already managed to defend it by knocking out his compatriot Anthony Joshua.
Recall that on the night of May 19, 2024, Usyk defeated Fury by split decision in a fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion. At the end of the ninth round, Alexander knocked his opponent down.
Usyk became the first absolute world heavyweight champion in the 21st century and the first in history “absolute” heavyweight with four main titles – WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC.