The Ukrainian world champion visited our defenders to support them in a difficult time for our country.
Oleksandr Usyk told how he visited Ukrainian soldiers defending the country from Russian invaders. According to the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion, he saw with his own eyes the horrors and how difficult it is for the fighters on the front line.
According to the Ukrainian boxer, being with the soldiers added motivation to him.
“I lived with the soldiers. I spent some time with them. Of course, it added to my motivation. I received many text messages from fans, I also received letters from my friends who are on the front line. Sometimes when I talk to friends on the phone, shells are ringing, I hear bombings, and they say, “Brother, I’ll call you later if I’m still alive.” Most of the time, they survive.
Through binoculars, at a distance of 900 meters, I saw my enemies fleeing. I saw an exploded tank. I saw the destroyed houses. I saw people without legs and arms. I also saw people walking, but to me they were dead.
When I was sitting in the car near the city, I realized that it was a dead city. I saw the children’s toys, I saw the playgrounds, but everything seemed dead to me. There is no energy in this city. One day I realized that in this place, in this playground, children are playing. But now he is completely dead.
Some of the men in front asked, “What are you doing here? We don’t understand why you came here. There are generals who don’t come to this place.” I told them: “I am not a general, but an ordinary Ukrainian person.”
For the past year and a half I have been living apart from my family. My children cannot be in Ukraine. They live somewhere else, but all this makes me stronger. I see how people change. Even the people I know are changing, but not in the best way.
I have spent a lot of time with these fighters and they are not professional soldiers ready to fight. These are ordinary people. One of them was a banker, the second had a bakery, the third had his own business, but they went to war. Of course, there are soldiers in the army, but many men are not. They came there to free our country.
If I can give them a little pleasure, I box every day. I understand because they are on the front line there, they are not watching anything, they are fighting for freedom. But we will find freedom later,” Usyk told The Ring.
It can be remembered that Usyk previously spoke about when he would end his professional career as a boxer.
Source: korrespondent
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
