BANGKOK, Thailand – Call it the fruits of his labor.
In this lush South Asian locale where the nearby islands lure so many from global destinations to relax, the man who has invested a lifetime into becoming the top fighter of his generation has finally been able to savor the adoration of feats accomplished from fierce determination, mostly in isolation.
Oleksandr Usyk, the three-belt heavyweight champion and two-time undisputed titlist from Ukraine, has been bathed in appreciation during the WBC Convention.
On Tuesday he made a tour across this metropolis to mingle with national dignitaries. The night previous, he contributed some gala-dinner singing accompanying a female songstress’ version of John Legend’s “All of Me”, and he’s been hailed by the sanctioning body with gifts including the “King” trophy, a robe in his war-torn nation’s colors, all while being adored by legends, active fighters and fans alike.
For Usyk, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and former cruiserweight champion who has twice defeated ex-champions Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois, the retreat has been a rare deviation from his relentless course.
What has this been like for the champion to absorb?
“I need to work even more so more people can see that I work and I achieve, so they can feel if they work, they will also achieve,” Usyk, 38, told BoxingScene following his tour of Bangkok.
Usyk, 24-0 (15KOs), confirmed what he told a Thai reporter on Monday – that he next wants to fight Alabama’s Deontay Wilder, 44-4-1 (43KOs), the former heavyweight champion and fellow 2008 Olympian who qualified for the title shot earlier on Tuesday when the WBC ratings committee kept Wilder ranked among its top-15 contenders.
A Usyk team official said it’s premature to assess when and where Usyk-Wilder will take place.
While Usyk’s close friend, countryman and former three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko retired earlier this year as the IBF lightweight champion at age 37, Usyk said his private commitment to fight on is rooted in the mindset that has distinguished him.
“I don’t have a final destination,” he said. “I live. I work. God has given me the gift of life. God everyday gives me power. But I must work every day. If you work, you grow. It’s like being a Japanese samurai. The samurai doesn’t have motivation. The samurai has to wait. I have to wait.”
He said choosing Wilder, 40, is about doing what he wants to do.
“I want the fight with Deontay because he’s a dangerous guy; a world champion for a long time [2015-2020]; a guy who for the last 10-15 years has been a very great champion,” Usyk said.
The monumental journey persists even as Usyk’s home country has been ravaged by Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
As a special US envoy carrying a peace plan visited Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the United Nations recently reported that there have been more than 53,000 civilian casualties since the 2022 Russian invasion – including more than 14,000 deaths.
Usyk said he’s of course distracted by the bloodshed of his countrymen, all while resolving that his importance as a powerful symbol of Ukraine’s strength and defiance represents an invaluable inspirational piece in the brutal period.
“If I stop working and have emotion, it will kill me,” Usyk said. “Listen, it’s hard – it’s very hard. My two daughters, my wife, my mama, a lot of friends and so many people in Kyiv are not here. I’m here. I work. But I believe in Jesus Christ, and I know he has helped me to help my family, help Ukraine and help our world. It’s our path to finally get independence.”
Kyiv Mayor and former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has told Usyk that his country needs to see him succeed during these trials.
“Vitali told me when the war started, ‘Hey, bro, go to training,’” Usyk said. “You must box and you must win because the Ukrainian people need the emotion.”
He originally said “No”, wanting to take up arms for Ukraine.
“No,” Klitschko replied, “you must go to work.”
Usyk won the 2024 fighter-of-the-year award, rallying from down on the scorecards in his first bout against Tyson Fury in May 2024 after asking for and kissing a cross handed to him by a cornerman after seven rounds.
A flurry of punches in the eighth and a more damning attack in the ninth forced a standing eight count that won him the fight.
The sequence was pure theater – so much so that actor and former HBO “24/7” voice Liev Schreiber eloquently detailed the scenery in a written presentation honoring Usyk at the Boxing Writers Association of America dinner in New York.
“I said to God ‘If I deserve it, please give me a little bit more power, and I will do what I have to do’,” Usyk said. “All I can do as a citizen of Ukraine is to pull the country up as hard as I can.”
It’s working, because Usyk’s path continues toward wherever his heroic occupation takes him next.
When reporters pressed him for details – how many more fights? Who else will he fight? – he sang again, as if the remnants of the fun evening before could carry him through the days to come.
“That’s life,” he sang, mocking Frank Sinatra, smiling before returning to the existence he knows so well.
