the symbol of victory of Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk

The whole of Ukraine was hanging on this fight which made Oleksander Usyk the most successful boxer in history. After this victory on Sunday in Riyadh, he becomes the new world boxing champion in the heavyweight category.

Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk has just joined the greatest boxing legends, from Mohamed Ali to Joe Louis and “Iron” Mike Tyson, after his victory, Sunday May 19, against the British Tyson Fury, in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. A victory that he dedicated, in tears, to his father who died in 2013. A victory which allows him to unify all the belts in the heavyweight discipline, a feat unmatched since 1999. And even at the time, there were only three belts in the premier category compared to four today.

Never seen before what his opponent “Gypsy King“, as he is nicknamed because of his gypsy origins, had a hard time digesting since he said, after having his butt kicked: “I think we both fought a good fight. But you know, his country is at war. People side with the country at war.”. For fair play, we will come back.

On the other hand, it is true that the whole of Ukraine was hanging on to this fight. The president, Volodymyr Zelensky, congratulated Oleksandr Usyk on Telegram, taking the opportunity to slip in passing that “the Ukrainians are hitting hard”. As for the mayor of kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, he considered that he had “showed the world that Ukrainians are capable of defeating a strong opponent“Of course, what could be more symbolic than a Ukrainian, who has become a national treasure, climbing to the roof of the boxing world after a Homeric fight, for a country which is sinking into an endless war.

Everywhere in Ukraine, citizens and soldiers followed this fight, which made Oleksander Usyk the most successful boxer in history. Soldiers he stood alongside until recently, having joined the battlefield after the Russian invasion, before finally returning to the rings. His own battlefield, the rings where his only weapon is his fists, and his words, since in each fight, he encourages the Ukrainians to continue to fight, to lead this battle for freedom which It is nothing other than the battle of their lives, even if they risk losing it in the process.