Ukrainian-born professional boxer Oleksandr Usyk has been reigning since July 2018 as the unparalleled cruiserweight champion, making the record as the first boxer to ever win all the major championships at cruiserweight. The four major titles include IBF titles and WBA (Unified), the WBC title, which he clinched in January 2018, and the WBO title which has been his since 2016.
The boxing champion won three out of the four titles at the opening of the World Boxing Super Series where he also bagged the Muhammed Ali special trophy. Usyk is also the current holder of the Lineal and Ring Magazine titles. This remarkable feat has not only made him popular but has increased the curiosity of fans and stakeholders wishing to know more about the boxer. This brings us to the frequently asked question:
Who is Oleksandr Usyk? Brief Bio
The professional boxing champion is the most recent boxer in the male category to hold all the four boxing titles simultaneously since Terence Crawford achieved that feat in 2017. By achieving this amazing record, Usyk has joined the league of four other boxers in history who have won it in the past; that is, after Crawford, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor, and Cecilia Brækhus. He made an all-time boxing record by winning the undisputed champion in his 15th professional fight which gave him the pride of place as the very first undisputed champion from his home country of Ukraine. Oleksandr Usyk left outstanding records during his years as an amateur when he bagged gold medals in both the 2012 Olympics and World Championship of 2012 boxing in the heavyweight division.
He was born Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk on January 17, 1987, in Simferopol, Ukrainian SSR. The boxer who has been nicknamed ‘The Cat’ because of his swiftness and agility is of Ukrainian nationality and lives in Kiev, Ukraine. He owes his educational qualifications to Lviv State University of Physical Culture where he graduated from. Not much is known about his origin and educational background but his records have it that he was not toeing the line of boxing in his formative years. He rather played association football until the age of 15 and underwent football training at the SC Tavriya Simferopol specialized sports school of Olympic reserve which was his club’s football academy. The former footballer made a U-turn to boxing in 2002.
During his amateur years, he fought at the 2006 European Championship, winning his first three matches against his opponents but he eventually lost in the semi-finals to Matvey Korobov who is a Russian boxer. Usyk ascended to the lightweight division and in 2008, he won the Strandia Cup. He attained the next weight class in February 2008 which resulted in him being sent to the Olympic qualifier in Roseto Degli Abruzzi where he was meant to replace Denys Poyatsyka, the European Champion. Subsequently, he defeated Daniel Price and ElchinAlizade who were both world-class boxers.
2008 Olympics saw Oleksandr Usyk lose by 4–7 to Clemente Russo and outpoint Yushan Nijiati by 23-4. He later descended to light-heavyweight, won the 2008 European Championship gold, and later ascended back to heavyweight. He defeated Teymur Mammadov and Artur Beterbiev at the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships of 2011 to win the Heavyweight title which in turn qualified him for the Olympics. He achieved another great feat at the 2012 London Olympic Games when he defeated Clemente Russo of Italy, Artur Beterbiev, and TervelPulev, clinching the gold medal in the process. Usyk turned professional in 2013.
His entire boxing record which has culminated into a total of 15 fights with 15 wins is simply impressive and has earned him the ranking of the Word’s Best Active Cruiserweight by the Ring Magazine, ESPN, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), and BoxRec in the month of July 2018.
The southpaw who has achieved a professional record of 9-1 with an exceptional record of 100% knockout ratio is presently enjoying the rank of the world’s fourth-best active boxer, pound for pound by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and also The Ring. ESPN and BoxRex have rated him in the eighth and seventh positions respectively.
Family – Wife, Kids
There is not much information on the famous boxer’s family background but from what we got from his available records, he is married to Kateryna Usyk. The couple has three kids who were born in 2009, 2013, and 2015 respectively. Though their genders are not known, one of their kids is named Yelizaveta Usyk.
Body Stats – Height, Weight
Oleksandr Usyk is among the tallest in the boxing profession. He stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches which is approximately 1.90m. The professional boxer has a stance of southpaw with a reach of 198cm or 78 inches. He has a proportional weight of 90 kg.
