Boxing-Motivation overrated, discipline the key for undisputed champion Usyk

The Star

20-07-2025

Boxing - Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois - Undisputed World Heavyweight Title - BoxPark Wembley, London, Britain - July 19, 2025 Oleksandr Usyk during the press conference after winning the fight against Daniel Dubois Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
(Reuters) -Oleksandr Usyk, with his characteristic pragmatism, shut down any questions over whether he can motivate himself to keep going after a knockout win over Daniel Dubois on Saturday helped him reclaim the undisputed heavyweight boxing crown.
The Ukrainian put in a scintillating performance as he floored Briton Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium to add the IBF belt to his WBC, WBA and WBO titles.
Asked how he was able to continue competing with such drive at the age of 38, Usyk told reporters: "I don't have motivation, I have discipline."
"Motivation is temporary, today you have it, tomorrow you wake up early and you don't have it."
"When I wake up early morning for training, I never have motivation, I only have discipline. Only amateur sportsmen need motivation. Motivation is good, but discipline is better."
Saturday's unification fight was a rematch of one that Dubois lost by a controversial ninth-round knockout in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2023, after Usyk was given time to recover from what the referee ruled was a low blow.
Usyk said he and his team had put the lessons they had learned from their first meeting with Dubois to use, adding that they had even named the precise combination of blows that led to their victory.
"We prepared for this fight, with my team. We learned from the first fight, we had a long time, two years to prepare a combination," he said.
"The punch is named Ivan. It's a Ukrainian name, it's like a big guy who lives in a village and works on a farm! It's a hard punch."
While Usyk was non-committal on who he would face next, he stressed that he was not yet ready to hang up his gloves.
"Now I want to rest. I cannot say who my next opponent is today, because I've been preparing for three and a half months. I don't see my family, my wife," he said.
"Every day I live with my team, with 14 guys in one house. Every day, only same faces. Now I want to go back home. I want to make a choice about what's next."
"I will continue in boxing, I will continue training, but now I cannot say who's my next opponent."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in BengaluruEditing by Marguerita Choy)