Usyk wearing Cossack outfit sings Ukrainian resistance song at Joshua press conference
The Ukrainian IBF, WBO, WBA, and IBO super heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk emotionally ended the press conference on the eve of the rematch with the British Anthony Joshua.
After the boxers answered the journalists' questions and had an intense stare-down, Usyk sang the folk song "Oy U Luzi Chervona Kalyna," which became one of the symbols of our country's resistance against russia's military aggression.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian boxer came to the final press conference in a traditional Cossack outfit — an embroidered jacket and with a Cossack chub (a traditional cossack hairstyle) on his head.
The second fight between Usyk and Joshua will take place on August 20 in the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. In June, the rematch between the Ukrainian and the British was officially announced.
We will remind, on the night of September 26, 2021, Usyk defeated Joshua in London by a unanimous decision — 117-112, 116-112, and 115-113, and won the IBF, WBO, WBA, and IBO heavyweight titles. After that, the Briton activated the rematch option, which was written in the contract for the first fight.
So, in the rematch, all the titles that the Ukrainian took from the Briton last year and the belt of The Ring magazine will be at stake.
35-year-old Usyk has 19 victories (13 by knockout) in 19 fights. He spent three of them in the heavyweight division. Before that, Oleksandr became the absolute world champion in cruiserweight (weight category up to 90.7 kg), winning all four of the most prestigious belts there.
The track record of 32-year-old Joshua has 24 wins (22 by knockout) and two losses. AJ lost for the first time in June 2019 to Andy Ruiz, but in December of the same year, he defeated the Mexican in a rematch and regained the titles.
