SunSport can reveal OLEKSANDRUSYK'S journey to Ukraine's frontline and the Jeddah desert, as well as his Anthony Joshua rematch.
London 2012 Olympic champion, 35 years old, flew back to the capital last September in order to dethrone fellow gold boy AJ of WBA and IBF heavyweight titles.
The journey of Usyk to the rematch was a difficult, turbulent and dangerous one
However, he was forced to sign the rematch agreement before his February visit to the UK. His country was then at war with Vladimir Putin's invaders.
We can now reveal, thanks to a source within the camp of the 19-0 freedom fighters, the emotional and physical journey Usyk took to defend more than his titles on Aug 20.
SPRING INTO ACTION
Usyk left home on February 21 to London for business, but he knew that he needed to be back on the 24th to celebrate his daughter Yelizaveta’s birthday.
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He went to London to see Chelsea's 2-0 Champions League victory over Lille on the 22nd, and then to Sheffield to film for a videogame on the 23rd.
However, on the morning of 24th, the first rockets or bombs exploded at Kyiv. All air travel and connections were halted.
Usyk realized that he was hosting a large number of friends, family, and associates from Ukraine at his family celebrations. He devised a plan to return.
He rode a Eurostar from Brussels to then took a train to Poland, and finally walked up to the Ukraine border as a pedestrian.
SUN BINGO GET PS50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAYOfficials wouldn't allow him to pass as a pedestrian. He was fortunate to meet another Ukrainian pedestrian crossing in his car, so they loaded up and moved on.
He was back in his home in two days, and the trip from the border to the home took him ten hours.
ARMS SETTING UP
On February 28, Usyk was already protecting his people with a machine pistol over his shoulder.
To defend his home, he joined the Kyiv Territory Defence military group and, with his friends, formed a group to defend his territory.
Our source said: "He had a gun like everyone else in the group. He was praying that the machine gun would not fire so it wouldn't be loaded.
"Thankfully, God heard his prayers and he didn't have to.
"But another house that he had lived in was attacked and occupied earlier by Russians."
Usyk, along with all his guests, stayed in his basement to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.
He lost 22 lbs in weight over his lifetime, but was too stressed to eat right or train properly.
FIGHT or FLIGHT
After almost a month of life or death hiding and patrolling, Usyk took the opportunity to post on social media to confirm that the rematch had been agreed upon and that he would be leaving Kyiv.
He was a wannabe Hollywood actor and had decided to stay in Ukraine. Yekaterina, his wife, asked him to leave and bring their children to safety. She stated that she would not leave Ukraine without him.
Because Usyk was so dedicated to his country, he refused to leave immediately. He stayed for a few more weeks and spent some time with military guards and friends at the front lines.
He visited hospitals and spoke to wounded soldiers and met them.
However, Ukraine's most brilliant minds and most powerful voices convinced him that he could do more on the international sporting stage than on the frontline.
He met with many influential people who advised him to return to boxing. The team applied to the minister for sport, and Usyk was granted permission to leave the country to start training camp.
After speaking to Prime Minister Zelensky, Usyk received the official permission from Vadym Gutzeit, the sports minister.
HUNGER FOR SUCCESS
Usyk and his dedicated, small team met in Western Ukraine. They drove across the border into Hungary and stayed for one night in Budapest. They then moved on to the Czech Republic.
According to reports, the convoy never crossed into Poland's border and never stayed there.
Team Usyk spent around two weeks in Czech Republic, beginning his training camp with Polissya Zhytomyr. This is the team for which he made his debut in a friendly on February 4.
After the fight was confirmed, the group traveled by car and plane to Dubai and made their home at the Box IQ gym. He hopes to adapt quicker than AJ who is still in Loughborough.
STATE OF EMERGENCY and MIND
Last week, Usyk appeared refueled and strong at the Jeddah media conferences. He won their face-off at press conference, forcing AJ and Usyk to split their stares first.
Joshua was filming a promo and the maverick performed in the mocked up ring in front of him. He then danced with his ringside fans, throwing more shapes.
According to reports, the champ is back at his frightening best and has Tyson Fury, WBC champ, on his mind.
Our insider stated that Usyk had lost weight, but most Ukrainians did not lose much weight during the war. It is impossible to feel full sitting in basements hiding from bombs.
"After moving to his training camp, he became completely focused on his objections to fighting and defeated AJ in the rematch.
The team worked on his mental and physical health. You could see in the press conference that he is 100% OK. His mental and physical health are at a high standard. His motivation and condition are excellent.
"He is on target for his titles and his status of the unified heavyweight champion, and then he moved to become undisputed champion.
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"It will be history as the first man to unify at heavyweight and cruiserweight in the four-belt era."
It will be a story.
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