Ukrainian boxer visits Ukrainian power plant destroyed by Russian attacks
Alexander Usik. Photo – Getty Images
WBC, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk visited a Ukrainian power plant destroyed by Russian attacks, talked to its workers, and at the same time answered a question about one of his championship belts, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was bringing to his US counterpart Donald Trump .
“Does Trump deserve my championship belt? You know, whether he deserves it or not is not the question. If this leads to peace in our country, I am ready to give up all my belts,” Usyk said.
Read also: Usyk met with US House Speaker Johnson
Usyk was named the best boxer of 2024 by ESPN, as well as by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and The Ring. The first fight against Fury was also named the best fight by several versions.
Let us recall that in May 2024, Usyk won the WBC championship belt, defeating Fury by split decision. Alexander became the absolute world champion, having collected all the main belts in the heavyweight division in his collection. In December, the Ukrainian won a second victory over the Briton in a rematch.
In March, the Ukrainian once again expressed his desire to fight IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs). His coach Sergey Lapin said that Alexander plans to hold his next fight between July and September.
At the same time, the WBO officially determined that Usyk will defend his championship belt. The Ukrainian's opponent should be the interim WBO world champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 23 KOs). The parties were given 30 days to negotiate – if the deal is not agreed upon, the WBO will hold a promoter auction for the event. Refusal to fight may result in Alexander losing the WBO championship belt, but Usyk has options to avoid this. One of them is an official request to the WBO to postpone the fight.