July 19 (Reuters)
The boxing world has been the standard for excellence in the martial arts world for generations. Now, Oleksandr Usyk has become the latest boxing icon to cement his status in the sport, following a historic win in London. Boxing has a way of showing one’s true colors, and Usyk showed the world that age truly is just a number. Grit and determination are the name of the game, with physical fitness filling up the supporting cast’s role. Now, the heavyweight icon has made his thoughts on the sport clear: discipline is key.
Oleksandr Usyk has reached the pinnacle of the sport
Oleksandr Usyk, with his characteristic pragmatism, shut down any questions over whether he can motivate himself to keep going after a knockout win over Daniel Dubois on Saturday, helped him reclaim the undisputed heavyweight boxing crown. The Ukrainian put in a scintillating performance as he floored Briton Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium to add the IBF belt to his WBC, WBA, and WBO titles. Capping off a truly remarkable career in the ring.
Asked how he was able to continue competing with such drive at the age of 38, Usyk told reporters: “I don’t have motivation, I have discipline.”
“Motivation is temporary; today you have it, tomorrow you wake up early and you don’t have it. When I wake up early morning for training, I never have motivation, I only have discipline. Only amateur sportsmen need motivation. Motivation is good, but discipline is better.”
This is the second time Dubois and Usyk have faced off
Saturday’s unification fight was a rematch of one that Dubois lost by a controversial ninth-round knockout in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2023, after Usyk was given time to recover from what the referee ruled was a low blow. Usyk said he and his team had put the lessons they had learned from their first meeting with Dubois to use, adding that they had even named the precise combination of blows that led to their victory.
“We prepared for this fight with my team. We learned from the first fight, we had a long time, two years, to prepare a combination,” he said. “The punch is named Ivan. It’s a Ukrainian name, it’s like a big guy who lives in a village and works on a farm! It’s a hard punch.” Usyk has the pride of a nation on his shoulders, and the win represents a unification of titles for the Ukrainian.
What is next for the heavyweight champion of the world
While Usyk was non-committal on who he would face next, he stressed that he was not yet ready to hang up his gloves. “Now I want to rest. I cannot say who my next opponent is today, because I’ve been preparing for three and a half months. I don’t see my family, my wife,” he said.
“Every day I live with my team, with 14 guys in one house. Every day, only same faces. Now I want to go back home. I want to make a choice about what’s next. I will continue in boxing, I will continue training, but now I cannot say who’s my next opponent.”
As the world has grown to accept the changes taking place in the sport, the win for Usyk comes as no surprise to most. Can he go even further and cement his status as one of the greatest of all time. There are several boxers in the lighter weight classes that might have something to say about that. One thing that is for certain, Usyk will go down as one of the most dominant fighters in history. What we need to remember is that he has won 24 out of 24 fights in his illustrious career.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru. Editing by Marguerita Choy)
