Heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk, 35, highlights Ukraine's Cossack heritage ahead of his fight to retain his world title against Briton Anthony Joshua (from 10 p.m. French time), whose career will be threatened in defeat this Saturday in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
Supported by millions of Ukrainians whose lives have been turned upside down by war, a favorite of bettors, Usyk is putting his WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight champion belts on the line, won a year ago in London against Joshua, 32 years old.
A victory acquired on points, by unanimous decision.
The immense Joshua, 1.98 m against 1.91 m for Usyk, former Olympic heavyweight champion with 24 victories and two professional defeats, has been trained for a few months by the renowned Robert Garcia in order to develop a more aggressive style.
VIDEO: The face-off between Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk and his British rival Anthony Joshua on the eve of their world title clash in Jeddah.
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Usyk seemed calmer than his opponent during the pre-match conference on Wednesday.
Dressed in a traditional costume, his head shaved except for a Cossack-style lock, he sang a Ukrainian patriotic song in front of the press from all over the world.
The fight will exceptionally be broadcast for free in Ukraine.
Further motivation for Usyk, who served as a volunteer in the Ukrainian army in February before accepting a rematch.
Promoter Alexander Krassyuk underlined the enormous support of Ukrainians for Usyk: “He was in contact with high-ranking military personnel, he visited hospitals and met with wounded soldiers.
Each time, he was told to fight for this revenge.
People want him to fight."
During the press conference, Usyk continued his show with a test of dexterity, throwing four coins in the air from his hand and catching them one by one before they hit the ground...
The preparation of the Ukrainian left-hander was no less spectacular: he cycled 100 kilometers at 45 degrees, swam for five hours in a row, and remained in apnea for 4 minutes and 45 seconds until he almost passed out, according to his manager Egis Klimas.
“Looks like a cyborg.
He's been through hell in training camp for the past three months,” Krassyuk said of Usyk, who has a brilliant amateur career and is undefeated in 19 professional fights.
For his part, Joshua has remained discreet about his strategy, but we expect him to try to impose his physique and his reach against an opponent smaller than him and whose speed and variety of shots will confused last September.
The Briton dismissed rumors of a possible retirement in the event of a defeat, but admitted he could not afford a third failure in his career.
“I have to win.
The preparation was difficult, but I like the pressure,” said Joshua.
"I didn't lose to a nerd," Joshua said, referring to his loss to Usyk last year.
It's crazy to think I should retire.
I want to stay competitive.
I love that.
It's demanding, but I love the challenge..."
Saudi Arabia has already smiled on the native of Watford, during his revenge against the Mexican Andy Ruiz Junior in December 2019. The latter had beaten him by technical knockout a few months earlier, for the first defeat of the Briton in his professional career.
Unknown in the fight is the weight gain of Usyk, former unified world light-heavyweight champion, who is said to have gained 15 kilos of muscle, giving him more power but creating the risk of reducing his speed, a major asset during the fight. first fight.
