Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk has gone undefeated in professional boxing, becoming the undisputed world heavyweight and super heavyweight champion. He has proven that fights are won by those who write their own rules.
Jacket made of polyamide and polyurethane, Stone Island, glasses, Saint Laurent (kameron.ua)
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“There are eight billion people on the planet, but I became the absolute world champion,” says Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, as if he is still pondering his path. On the night of May 19, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, in a duel against Briton Tyson Fury, he won the WBO superweight belt – the fourth in his collection – and took a prominent place among the stars of world boxing. Today, Usyk is a sports legend: the only athlete in history who managed to collect all the championship belts according to the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF federations in the heavyweight and most prestigious superheavyweight categories.
The Ukrainian's fights are like fashion shows, where sheikhs and world stars gather in the front rows, from football player Cristiano Ronaldo to actors Daniel Craig and Jason Statham, – and at the same time like rock concerts, where adrenaline is pumping. The title performance with Anthony Joshua in 2021, when Usyk took three belts from the Briton at once – WBA, WBO and IBF, – stunned the 60,000-capacity Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Last year, the 90,000-capacity London Wembley watched as the Ukrainian boxer knocked out British heavyweight Daniel Dubois with his signature “Ivan” blow in the fifth round in a rematch for the absolute championship. Several tens of millions more viewers around the world followed these events via online broadcasts.
Boxer shorts and sneakers, everything is the property of the hero
39-year-old Usyk is a nearly two-meter-tall handsome man with the charisma of Johnny Depp and the sense of humor of Matt Rife. Outside the boxing ring, he is a husband, a father of many children, a believer, an actor (he starred in the Hollywood sports drama “Unbreakable.” – Ed. note), a millionaire, a sports philanthropist and a national favorite. Recently, he has been wearing a mustache and beard, and his long hair, with thin strands of gray hair at the temples, is combed back. Clear blue eyes and a recognizable cleft smile can be misleading: it is not easy to immediately realize that behind this open face is a master who exquisitely builds a series of jabs, hooks and uppercuts.
Wool jacket and trousers, leather shoes, everything – Richard James, cotton turtleneck, John Smedley
Usyk, with his expressive, bright masculinity, surprisingly suits pink: in the extensive collection of Stone Island outfits – a jumper, a corduroy jacket and a windbreaker in delicate marshmallow shades. “Lisa (the athlete's eldest daughter. – Ed. note) said that I should take it,” he explains. “Who am I to not listen.” He drives around Kyiv in a black Gelendvagen or a dark green “roaring” BMW G12 7 Series, which he affectionately calls “Galya”. For more than seven years, he has been training in an ordinary Kyiv gym – with everyone, without security. On his little finger he wears a wedding ring with a diamond pavé in white gold, on his wrist – a gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona John Mayer watch with a green dial, his left ear is adorned with a Cossack horseshoe-shaped earring (a hint of his connection with his family), and around his neck – a heavy silver cross on a black cord. “I owe everything I have to God,” says the boxer. “In this life you don't really own anything. You are tested by wealth and poverty, love and gate, but only one thing is important: with what soul you will reach the end of your earthly life.”
“In this life you truly own nothing. You are tested by wealth and poverty, love and gate, but only one thing matters: with what soul you reach the end of your earthly life”
Leather jacket, wool trousers, all by Our Legacy, cotton shirt, Gieves & Hawkes, wool coat, silk tie, all by the stylist
We are filming modern boxing legend Oleksandr Usyk in February Kyiv – this is one of the hardest winters in the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion. Due to Russian shelling, the lights in the houses appear for a couple of hours a day. The hum of generators along the sidewalks drowns out all other sounds of the big city and is heard almost non-stop. Photographer Charlie Gray and stylist David Bradshaw arrived from London – we have three days of shooting ahead of us. Some of Usyk's championship belts – the ones that lie in the corner at home, where the family waits for air raids – have been packed into a large suitcase, which now seems to weigh a ton. It goes with us to the Vogue Ukraine office. “I hope I won't see them on OLX?” Oleksandr warns, and half-jokingly adds: “I know how to sell them for more.” (Last December, his WBC championship belt, won in a fight with Tyson Fury, went to a charity auction in Kyiv for a million dollars. All the funds were directed to the treatment of a two-year-old boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. – Ed. note.) “Eight hours every day!? – Usyk asks in surprise about our plans for him. – Did my wife agree to such a schedule for me, and I went on my own business? I would never sign up for such a thing voluntarily. Okay, let's work.”
Usyk speaks of his absolute championship with sincere admiration. He shows photos from his phone of notes he once wrote to his imaginary supporter from the future. “To fan Sergey Shumilov from Olympic champion Oleksandr Usyk. 09/19/2009,” written in calligraphic handwriting with a slight tilt to the left. “The Olympics were not my first time,” the athlete recalls. “In 2008 in Beijing, I lost, but I took Olympic gold from London in 2012.” In another note dated 01/15/2013, Usyk calls himself the world champion according to the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF versions. He achieved this goal six years later.
“Iron discipline helped me achieve all the results. Every day — early morning wake-up, hardening, training”
Wool coat, cotton and wool sweater, all by Gieves & Hawkes, wool jacket, Giorgio Armani
We are sitting in the locker room of a boxing club in Podil, in the historic center of Kyiv. It is -17 outside, the heating is not working, and the lights are powered by a portable power plant. The film crew has just returned from the Dnieper Hills, where in a blizzard, to the sounds of the air raid siren, they photographed the boxing legend against the backdrop of the 102-meter monument “Motherland” – a symbol of the invincibility of Ukrainians. To somehow warm up, we pour black tea from a thermos, but it instantly cools down. Usyk wraps himself in a gray coat made of fine wool by Gieves & Hawkes, worn over his bare torso – according to the stylist's plan. Before that, the boxer shows the tattoo on his right arm – “Motherland” with a trident: “I got this in 2010, threw the idea of a shield with the Ukrainian coat of arms into the universe.” (In August 2023, the Soviet symbols were removed from the sculpture, replacing them with Ukrainian ones. – Ed. note.) I look at the tattered walls of the room with yellowed posters of boxing legends: “I started with this,” Usyk catches my eye and takes a bite of a piece of waffle cake. “It doesn’t matter where you are now, if you have a dream.” “Delicious?” I ask. “I love it,” Usyk answers. “I cook it for the children myself.”
The future champion was born into a military family in the Ukrainian Crimea, where his parents moved from the north of the country: his father, Oleksandr Usyk Sr., was from Sumy region, and his mother, Nadiya, was from Chernihiv region. His childhood fell on the beginning of the 2000s, when the state was experiencing an economic and political crisis. Despite all the desire to help their son, their parents could do almost nothing. “Sometimes I didn't go to school for two weeks because I didn't have shoes to wear,” the athlete recalls. But he had something much more important – a space for self-expression. “When adults impose their vision of the world on children, they don't let their dreams take shape,” Oleksandr reflects. “My father simply believed in me and waited for me to understand who I was.”
Cotton coat, Stone Island, boxing sneakers, hero property
At the age of nine, Usyk caught a cold and got bilateral pneumonia, spent almost a year in hospitals. “I saw that my parents were spending their last money on my treatment, and I was very upset.” Feeling powerless, he began to pray – his grandmother taught him. Over time, this led him to believe in God. As a child, he played football, did folk dances – and with this speed in his legs and plasticity in his movements, at the age of 15 he came to boxing. He realized that sport is what he does best. “Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee” – this is the rule of Muhammad Ali, an American boxer, with whom Usyk was born on the same day and had the same anthropometry, the athlete made his motto. He was ambitious and knew what he wanted. He promised his mother to take her on a private jet when he grew up, and in the meantime he was in conflict with teachers at school for the right to be heard. “I had an explosive temper, I couldn't just raise my hand in class and wait my turn – I would shout from the spot. They told me: “You're an upstart, you'll never succeed.” And I believed that this trait would help me achieve my dream.” This same impudent Usyk can be recognized in the famous video of a meeting with brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko in 2013. Then he asked the reigning champions, who were a head taller than him in the literal and figurative sense, if he would have to go into the ring against them to take their belts. (At that time, the Klitschkos held all the heavyweight titles together: Vitali was the WBC champion, Wladimir – according to all others: WBA, WBO and IBF. – Ed. note) They just smiled.
Boxer shorts, property of the hero
“Iron discipline helped me achieve all the results,” says Usyk. “Since childhood, it was just like my father said. Every day – early morning wake-up, hardening, training. He taught me to take care of myself until I took control of my life.” Dad never hugged him as a child or said he loved him: “I thought he was a tyrant. Silent, cold, handsome.” Once Usyk Sr. disappeared for a month – as it turned out later, he was earning money in the vineyards. When he returned, grapes, oranges, and butter appeared on the table – and on his father's face was a slight smile, as rare as the fruit in their house.
“When adults impose their vision of the world on children, they don't let their dreams take shape. My father simply believed in me and waited for me to figure out who I was.”
The athlete speaks about his own children with a happy face: “Daughters are love, and sons are handsome.” Oleksandr Usyk and his wife Kateryna have been together for over twenty years. They are raising 16-year-old Lisa, 13-year-old Kyrylo, 11-year-old Mykhailo, and three-year-old Maria. The boxer goes to every fight in shorts with the name of one of his relatives embroidered on the waistband. “Kateya and I are raising ourselves first and foremost, not our children – so that they see an example of healthy relationships and imbibe family values,” says Usyk.
He starts every morning with prayer. In his house near Kyiv, Oleksandr has an improvised iconostasis with the patron saints of each family member. In the center is an image of the Virgin Mary, a candle, and a bottle of holy water. “My youngest daughter knows that this is her saint, and sometimes she comes to me during prayer to kiss the icon,” he says. On the wall in the kitchen, Lisa has drawn a family: in the center is her mother, sister, and herself, on either side is her father and brothers, and above them all is God.
Wool trousers, Gieves & Hawkes, suspenders, property of the stylist
For many years, Usyk has been taking care of a boy with cerebral palsy – now 16. “When I go to see him, I take one of the children so that they are not isolated from reality, are able to communicate with those who live a different life, understand their needs and appreciate what they have: family, health, home, the opportunity to study. Their first reaction is pity, but this boy is a fighter: he makes efforts every day, it is worth admiring. Sometimes we teach each other to simply see the person next to us, and not ourselves and our feelings.”
Oleksandr loves to organize family runs. “I understand that it is difficult for children to endure a five-kilometer cross-country race at a given pace. But I constantly raise the bar for them, create obstacles, because I do not know what awaits them in life. My task is to raise them to be physically and psychologically trained.” The athlete is sure that the body is capable of withstanding anything. The main thing is to convince the brain of this. He constantly tests himself: he ran a marathon twice; swam ten kilometers in a pool, river and sea; in 3 hours and 51 minutes he covered a hundred-kilometer distance on a bicycle in Dubai under the scorching sun; he spent 40 rounds in a row in the ring – that's four hours and minus four kilograms. The next goal is to swim across the Bosphorus. Does he have any more trivial sports hobbies? After training, he loves to play the computer blockbuster Counter-Strike with a team, football has been his passion since childhood.
“With the birth of my daughter, I changed my life. There was a house, training, and church. My friends decided that I had a star disease”
His children know nothing about refusals. “I always tell them 'you can', but then I add 'but'. I want them to make the right choice, so I try to explain everything.” Usyk has been writing a letter to his eldest daughter Liza for many years – he wants to give it to her for her 18th birthday. “It contains many words of love and gratitude, everything about development, relationships and men, but without any 'shoulds'. I must – to show how to really love a woman. That's why I try to be a good husband for Katya.” Liza is listed in his father's phone as “Dear Love”. “When I first saw her, I felt tenderness and very strong motivation. I was just preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games. One of my friends said that his daughter is not his son. I wanted to scold him. She is a child, God sent her.” Usyk recalls how his whole life changed then: “There was no more boyish romance and show-offs. There was a house, training, and church. I met with friends, but the circle narrowed. My acquaintances decided that I had star disease.”
Wool coat and trousers, all by Gieves & Hawkes, suspenders, property of the stylist
With the advent of Lisa, he began to understand his father better. He recalls how difficult it was to support the family on the salary of a young athlete. He did not refuse to work as a security guard or driver if he could earn extra money. The hardest thing, says Oleksandr, was to remain true to his principles. “I never agreed to play for another country or lose, no matter how difficult times I went through.”
He exhales loudly and after a pause says: “For my 18th birthday, my father gave me a gold cross on a chain, it was a very important thing for me. He was often the one who helped me out when I didn't have enough money. I pawned the chain when I realized that I had the last can of baby formula and a few diapers left. And when I managed to earn something, I bought it back. My father helped me here too.” Usyk Sr. died a month after his son won Olympic gold in London. Oleksandr didn't have time to show his father the medal in person – he put it in his coffin. Then the athlete experienced his biggest crisis. “I locked myself in the house and drank vodka for three days. And then I remembered that I have a family. If it weren't for them, I don't know where I would be now.”
Polyamide and elastane bomber jacket, nylon hat, everything – Stone Island
In amateur sports, Usyk fought about 400 fights and reached its highest level – Olympic gold. Then he sought to conquer the world of professional sports – with harder blows and longer fights. In 2013, he was offered a contract under which the athlete was to move to Los Angeles for a year, but Katya was not attracted to America – she refused. “I realized that I was risking my family if I agreed to the offer. I always dreamed of a wife – a tall brunette – and five children, I prayed for it. And I stayed in Ukraine.” Many believed that he was mistaken, but Usyk was sure – everything would work out. “When they say it's impossible, I'm honored to prove the opposite. No matter how difficult and long it is. I will fly there one hundred percent, swim there, climb there. For the sake of the goal, I can endure any asceticism. Today, I am even more proud that I started the path of a professional boxer from Ukraine and ended up where I dreamed.”
How Usyk broke into professional boxing will be told in a separate chapter in sports history textbooks. In November 2013, he fought his first heavyweight fight (approximately 80–90 kg) against Mexican Felipe Romero and knocked out his opponent. In 16 fights, he became the absolute champion, defeating Briton Tony Bellew in the decisive duel. He dealt with the boxing giants in the super heavyweight (approximately 91 kg and above) in eight fights, defeating each of them twice – American Chazz Witherspoon and Britons Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury. Thus, the Ukrainian athlete won the title of absolute world heavyweight champion and received the nickname Brit Slayer – “the British fighter”.
“Today I am even more proud that I started my journey as a professional boxer from Ukraine and ended up where I dreamed of”
Usyk was both adored and fiercely criticized. Haters craved blood and spectacle, reproached him for avoiding open confrontation, accused the athlete of allegedly not knowing how to take a punch and instead of “real” boxing, demonstrating a dance in the ring. Despite all the reproaches, Oleksandr Usyk showed a different model – boxing of the future, which future generations will be guided by: fast, maneuverable, intellectual – technically impeccable. He chose the nickname “Kit” for himself, emphasizing grace, speed and intelligence in the ring. In a short time, the Ukrainian athlete defeated the champions not with size, but with exceptional skill, imposing his own pace and rules of the game on them. In the world of professional boxing, where verbally humiliating an opponent has long been part of the show, he reached the top without aggression, bravado, and rudeness – sometimes even with subtle humor, as when he whispered in the voice of Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings”: “Fury… I'm coming for you” (the actor has lived in Usyk since childhood).
Cotton coat, Stone Island, boxing sneakers, hero property
Charlie Gray, the photographer of this story, recalls his first meeting with the Ukrainian champion: “It happened when I was working on a book about the fight between Usyk and Fury (the photo album Undisputed was released by Assouline in January of this year. – Ed. note). I went to his training camp in Spain and was pleasantly surprised. Every stage of the day was well organized, and his coach Yuri (Tkachenko. – Ed. note) did not leave a single detail unattended. I was photographing Alex's sparring when everyone received a message that due to Fury's injury, their fight would be postponed. Usyk did not care, his psychological attitude did not suffer. He said: “The fight will still happen, so let's continue.” It was amazing to see such a level of professionalism.”
Oleksandr Usyk begins preparing for big fights two months in advance. At this time, he cuts off contact with the outside world – with everyone except his family and team. He starts slowly: from two training sessions a day, he gradually moves to three. Getting up at 6:00 and an hour of cardio, a protein shake and an hour of sleep; breakfast at 9:30, in an hour and a half – a two-hour training session in the ring; lunch, sleep again and sparring at 18:00; after that – massage, a night's sleep. And so on in a circle. In nutrition – a jewel-like balance of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, compiled by nutritionist Kateryna Tolstikova. “During this period, no cakes and fast food, even steamed vegetables without salt. In addition to physical fitness, psychological readiness to be the first is important. Top athletes do not see obstacles to their goal,” he explains.
On Kateryna: leather bomber jacket, Saint Laurent (kameron.ua). On Alexandra: leather bomber jacket, Stone Island
Usyk's main secret is to find the key to victory over a specific opponent. He observes his opponent's habits, listens to what he says and how he behaves in the ring; he watches clips of his best attacks and misses – he scans all the movements. “People always return to their mistakes,” he notes. He analyzes his own fights in the same way: “There is always a wrong action before a missed blow. Before the hook, I used to step with my foot not to the side, but diagonally. These ten centimeters decided everything. I stood in front of the mirror and brought the perfect retreat to automatism. A good habit is the repetition of the right actions.” The hardest thing, he recalls, was understanding British heavyweight Derek Chisora, whose fight took place in October 2020 in London and brought Usyk the WBO champion belt: “He's like me! He didn't give a damn about anything – he did whatever he wanted in the ring. Then he admitted that he technically couldn't beat me, so he put psychological pressure on me with this behavior. But I held on.”
“After battle, not only friendship is possible, but also true brotherhood”
We are talking about the fateful fight with Tyson Fury – a 206-centimeter titan, skillful and fast (Olexandr Usyk’s height is 191 cm. – Ed. note). “When we signed the contract before the first fight and there were two months left until the fight, I told the team: I don’t know how to win, but I will win,” recalls Usyk. “In some rounds he was merciless, but I held back, because from the beginning I understood that we were halfway and the game would be long. And I am a marathon runner.” Boxing is a solitary sport, you are alone with your opponent. “I fought tigers,” says Oleksandr. “Respect for those who overcome their fears and enter the arena.” Is there a place for friendship in big boxing? “After the fight, not only friendship is possible, but also true brotherhood,” he is sure. “I am friends with almost everyone. “Derek Chisora introduced me to a man who has already helped Ukraine with more than three million euros.”
Boxer shorts and sneakers, everything is the property of the hero
During our conversation, Usyk is approached for autographs, joint photos, or simply to share impressions of his work in the ring. “My wife started having contractions,” says one of the fans. “Fortunately, I managed to see your fight, and the next day we had a daughter.” The boxer notes how society's demand for athletes' victories on the international stage has changed, how important they have become for Ukrainians during the war. He recalls being in London when the full-scale invasion began – the road home has never been so long. He signed up for the counter-terrorism service and canceled planned performances. In April 2022, he launched the Usyk Foundation charity fund, which raised money for civilians and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and in October of the same year he became an ambassador for the presidential fundraising platform United24. He did not feel the need to return to the sports arena until the military themselves started asking him about the next fights. In August 2022, on the eve of Independence Day, he met Anthony Joshua for the second time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. “I remember stumbling in the ring,” Usyk says. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, please, not now.’” After the fight, he was sent a video of soldiers on the second line of defense in Donbas sharing the news of their victory with the guys on the first line and zero. This was no longer just his victory – it belonged to all Ukrainians. “I felt again that I was doing something important,” the athlete recalls.
After each fight, Alexander's victorious cry is heard from the ring: “Kaaaaatya!” The champion's wife, a beautiful green-eyed brunette, is always in the hall. Kateryna is not one of those who covers her eyes with her palms and turns away. “I'm focused on the result,” she says confidently, and this crazy charge of energy is instantly transmitted to everyone in the room.
The day after the fight with Fury in Riyadh for the title of absolute world superweight champion, Charlie Gray took a landmark shot: Usyk is lying in a hotel bed with championship belts – Sasha shows his muscles and looks into the camera, while his wife kisses him on the forehead. Katya remembers how worried she was: “Usyk is all bruised after the fight, and I am 30 kg after giving birth. What kind of photo will this be?” This phrase contains the whole truth about the star couple. Their openness and courage to be themselves are so disarming that everyone who works with them has a personal need to justify this trust.
After fights, Usyk can stay awake for up to thirty hours. “At such speeds, the pulse rises to 200. You are tired, but you can't rest,” he says. “These days, I only want to see my wife, her presence helps me relax.” Would he have been able to overcome this path without her? Oleksandr frankly answers that he could, and then adds his obligatory “but”: “I don't know what kind of person I would be without her, definitely more aggressive. She is the light of my eyes.”
Usyk admits that the end of his boxing career is not far off, but he is not going to stay idle – he wants to help talented youth reach heights: “We have a lot of powerful beauties in our country.” After a pause, he says: “I don't like the system that exists now – to squeeze all the juices out of an athlete and leave him alone. My team and I have already started to change that.”
At the end of our conversation, he says: “In my prayers, I ask God to give me the strength to walk my path with dignity, if I am worthy of it. Ukrainians now have one wish for all of us – for the war and suffering to end. Otherwise, I am fine – my dreams have long since come true.”
Photo: Charlie Gray
Style: David Bradshaw
Text: Anna Zolotareva
Hairstyles, grooming: Sasha Vetrova
Producers: Mariia Nikolaienko, Marina Sandugei-Shyshkina
Lighting: Michel Azyabin
Post-production: INK
Location Manager: Artem Matsiukh
Stylist assistants: Isabella Peerutin, Yuliia Ostapchuk
Assistant Producer: Daryna Skakun