Oleksandr Usyk took aim at "weak" Russian president Vladimir Putin after giving his fellow Ukrainians a shot in the arm by beating Anthony Joshua for a second time.
Usyk outpointed Joshua in Saudi Arabia last night to retain his three heavyweight world titles and set up a potential undisputed clash with fellow champion Tyson Fury. Usyk's preparations for the fight had been disrupted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the 35-year-old initially taking up arms.
He was eventually persuaded to focus on his training camp and produced another impressive performance against an improved Joshua in Jeddah. And when he reflected on the victory, Usyk said of Putin: "Everything he shows is just to show that he's strong, but he's not. Otherwise he wouldn't show how strong, how big he is. In reality, he is very weak."
Usyk wore the blue and yellow of his homeland throughout fight week and had the backing of former heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko who lost to Joshua in 2017. "This fight was extremely important for my country, my team and for me. I boxed for the whole country and half of the world," Usyk added.
"I kept telling myself ‘you cannot stop, you cannot stop, you cannot stop’. Some big things were at stake. And thank God the belts are coming back to Ukraine, victory is for us and Ukraine won. "Now the whole world knows Ukraine is defending itself from the second biggest army in the world. And we stand strong and we give Russia a lot back.
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"I want to say that some people in the world are underestimating what is going on in Ukraine – please open your eyes and see what is happening. Ukrainians never give up, we always go to the end. We always win in the end, we just need a little more time."
Usyk will now target a fight with Fury which has been pencilled in for December with a return to the Middle East on the cards. "I am convinced he wants to fight me. That is what he is dreaming of every day," Usyk said. "I want to fight him. And if I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all. I am going to beat his ass."
