Oleksandr Usyk will face Anthony Joshua on Saturday in the first-ever fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Ukrainian looks to take away the heavyweight’s IBF, WBA and WBO straps – and ultimately prevent what would be a historic moment in British sport if Joshua wins.
‘The Cat’ has just 15 defeats on his record out of 368 fights all of which as an amateur.
The Ukrainian made history by becoming the first boxer to hold all four belts simultaneously doing so in just his 15th professional outing. In the heavyweight division the 34-year-old is still unknown as he prepares for the toughest fight in his career.
Usyk was raised in a family struggling financially and was forced to work numerous of jobs while growing up to support his parents including working on a farm and selling food on the street.
That was one of the reasons that led Usyk looking to pursue a boxing career at the age of 15. He previously played football for the youth academy of then-Ukrainian Premier League side SC Tavriya Simferopol.
“I played football, and I did it pretty well,” Usyk said. “I was never a benchwarmer, I was always a starter.”
“Soccer demanded some very serious expenses. And two or three hundred hryvnias was a substantial amount for my parents.”
“Boxing was simpler, more sociable. The coach gave me his gloves, his wife sewed them into the right form.”
“The only thing that my mum spent money on was a travel ticket.”
His quick boxing success certainly paid off.
Usyk made it to the European Championships semifinals just four years after starting with boxing and two years later won the gold medal.
In 2012 he became an Olympics champion.
A decade later he is ahead of the fight of his career which can make him a real boxing legend.
