Oleksandr Usyk 's wife has revealed he lost 10kg in just a week after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Usyk was fighting on the front line against the Russian invasion of his home country, but has since left to prepare for his heavyweight title defence against Anthony Joshua. The Ukrainian has described the horrific scenes in his country that included soldiers shooting at his house and his neighbours being dragged away.
The ongoing war has understandably had a huge effect on Usyk. His wife Kateryna said the heavyweight champion lost 10kgs in just one week whilst helping defend his country and was "torn apart" from the crisis. "Sasha lost 10 kilograms in a week of the war. He was so horrified, in such shock, he was so torn apart." she told PravdaTUT Lviv. …
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"I said 'Sasha, please, people are asking, you need to speak, somehow support' It is very difficult for him. He doesn’t really like giving interviews in normal, peacetime anyway. Now it’s difficult for him but he still goes on the air to say something.
"His position is clear, he has always been for Ukraine. He has always glorified it and will glorify it for as long as he has enough health and strength."
Usyk's rematch with Joshua is expected to take place in June or July, with Saudi Arabia likely hosting the fight after a landing a reported £90million bid. The pair first fought in London last September when Usyk outpointed 'AJ' to win his belts
Usyk said he spoke with former heavyweight champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko about stepping down from the frontline to prepare for a rematch with Joshua. He admitted that the war is still constantly on his mind during his preparations for the fight.
"Boxing is a sport and skill, while war is survival. In comparison with war, boxing is child's play. I have to work out thoroughly during my training period in order to be able to show my best performance. After the rematch with Anthony Joshua, we could start talking about the Tyson Fury fight," he told Blockasset.
"In other words, now I want to concentrate on my preparation because at the moment I cannot stop thinking about the war, about my friends in Ukraine. I have to get rid of such thoughts in order to prepare for the Joshua fight."
