Boxing-Usyk starts heavyweight title week with focus on war in Ukraine
LONDON (Reuters) -World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk kicked off the big fight build-up in London on Monday with a focus on war in his native Ukraine rather than anything he might face in the ring.
The unbeaten 38-year-old takes on Britain's IBF champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in a rematch for the undisputed title that puts the Ukrainian's own WBC, WBA and WBO belts on the line.
Usyk's first public appearance was in the city's central Trafalgar Square to unveil a recreated Ukrainian 'Kestrel' mosaic alongside British entrepreneur Richard Branson.
The original artwork, created in the now-Russian controlled port city of Mariupol in 1967, was severely damaged during the invasion that started in February 2022 and an identical copy has been funded by online retailer Rozetka and the Ukraine-wow agency.
Organisers say it will tour internationally as a symbol of repair and hope.
"Russia destroyed in my city, in my country, Russia destroyed hospitals, Russia destroyed schools, Russia destroyed Ukrainian lives," Usyk told the crowd, thanking Britain for its support for Ukraine.
"But we will survive. We will rebuild our country, like a mosaic, piece by piece."
The boxer then walked, surrounded by bodyguards and a scrum of fans, to nearby Pall Mall for photographs in front of a statue of 19th century nurse Florence Nightingale and the 1853-56 Crimean War memorial.
The Nightingale statue was holding a prosthetic limb, painted in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine, over her usual oil lamp.
Branson, who stood alongside Usyk, is a backer of the Superhumans centre specialist clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates war victims.
Usyk, who was born in the Crimean city of Simferopol that was annexed by Russia in 2014, also launched a campaign through his foundation to raise funds to build four apartment buildings and house 64 displaced families in Ukraine.
The boxer spends time in Ukraine when not training in Spain and frequently references the situation in his country, campaigning for peace.
Last month he invited U.S. President Donald Trump to live in his house in Ukraine for a week to help him understand what the country was going through.
"Only one week. I will give him my house. Live please in Ukraine and watch what is going on every night," he told the BBC. "Every night there are bombs and flights above my house. Bombs, rocket. Every night. It's enough."
Usyk and Dubois will have open workouts on Wednesday, a final face-to-face press conference at Wembley on Thursday and the public weigh-in on Friday.
The fight, made by Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Season, is live on DAZN worldwide.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Atletico agree deal to sign Argentine Almada from Botafogo
(Reuters) -Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal to sign Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada from Brazilian side Botafogo, the LaLiga club confirmed on Tuesday. "Our club and the Brazilian club have reached an agreement pending confirmation once the player passes the relevant medical examination and initials the contract," Atletico said in a statement. Local media reports said that Almada is set to sign a contract until 2030 after Atletico paid around 21 million euros ($24 million) for the 24-year-old, who can also play as a winger. A World Cup winner with Argentina, Almada made his senior debut with Velez Sarsfield in 2018 before joining Major League Soccer's Atlanta United. With Botafogo he won both the Brazilian Serie A title and the Copa Libertadores in 2024, before joining Ligue 1's Olympique Lyonnais on loan in January this year. ($1 = 0.8619 euros) (Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Golf-Schauffele starting with blank canvas for Open defence
Golf - The 153rd Open Championship - Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Northern Ireland, Britain - July 14, 2025 Xander Schauffele of the U.S REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -Xander Schauffele is super-excited at the prospect of trying to defend his British Open title at Royal Portrush this week but says he will have to come up with a different plan to the one that took him to victory 12 months ago. "I think a blank canvas is a great place to start. You can paint many different pictures to win a tournament. You've just got to do the right one," the American told reporters on the County Antrim coast on Tuesday after practice. The 31-year-old produced a blemish-free final-round of 65 at Royal Troon last year to win his second major title to go along with his gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics. He was the third American in four years to win golf's oldest major but while that experience will hold him in good stead for the days ahead, he said Portrush's Dunluce Links will throw up a completely new test of his renowned links golf skills. "It's an interesting thing just because my thoughts of playing really well were at Royal Troon," he said. "Coming here, I feel like I'm trying to re-learn this golf course, get comfortable with certain sight lines, some blind tee shots. If I can get myself in the mix, that's when I think I would have an advantage. That's where my biggest edge would be. "I can lean on experience at other points in time, but I think the most fun and the biggest advantage I would have is coming down the stretch if I can get close to that lead." With the perils of a links course's sloping greens, cavernous bunkers, knee-deep rough and the wild weather associated with Britain's coast, it is hardly surprising that defending the title is treacherous. The last player to do so was Ireland's Padraig Harrington in 2008 and Schauffele knows the luck of the draw and getting lucky with the weather could be vital this week. "This week is a pretty good example of having to deal with a wave. There's typically a good wave and a bad wave in an Open Championship," he said. "You just keep your fingers crossed that you're in the good wave and try and play well. "If you're not, fight for your life and make the cut and then try and do something on the weekend." For a player who grew up in San Diego, it might be surprising how he has embraced the challenge of links golf. But he said 16-hour trips in the car with his dad as a youngster helped him learn to be creative. "We drove up to Bandon Dunes from San Diego. It took about 16 hours. I was 13 years old," he said. "We played three or four days in a row. I think it was just Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes at the time. We got the real weather. My rain gear stopped working. It was that much wind and rain. "I had a blast. As much as it was nice to look forward to a hot shower at the end of the day, I had so much fun for some reason trying to figure out how to play golf in that weather." With wind and rain expected to batter Portrush at times over the next five days, he will draw on those experiences again. (Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Giugliano credits new energy for Italy's Euro 2025 run
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group B - Belgium v Italy - Stade de Tourbillon, Sion, Switzerland - July 3, 2025 Italy's Manuela Giugliano during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) -Italy are back in the knockout rounds of the Women's European Championship for the first time in 12 years, and midfielder Manuela Giugliano chalked it up to an energy in the team that she had not felt before. Le Azzurre face Norway on Wednesday in Geneva in the first quarter-final of Euro 2025 and they are in for a stiff challenge against a Norwegian side that cruised into the knockouts after winning all three of their group-stage games. Italy won just one of theirs. That could not erase the smile from Giugliano's face on Tuesday, as she told reporters the team's confidence was high. "I've been feeling this since the first day, we had a retreat, we tried to create a positive energy, an energy that I could not feel in the past," the 27-year-old told a press conference. "This is an additional weapon for this group, and you bring this weapon on the pitch, it allows you to run more. And so this is the motivation and awareness we have today. Our group is a beautiful group, is a positive group, and we're all united to achieve the same goal." The Italians were once regular contenders at European Championships, finishing no worse than fourth in six of the first seven editions of Europe's elite women's tournament. Since 2001 however, they have only advanced out of the group stage in two of their six appearances, and not since 2013. Coach Andrea Soncin said he had received numerous congratulatory messages about how the team has looked in Switzerland, and agreed with Giugliano that the squad's chemistry has made a difference. "There is the emotional aspect, that magic that they and us and we manage together, with all the staff managed to create," said Soncin, who shed tears of joy when Italy booked their knockout round berth. "When all the elements combine, there is a magical moment." (Reporting by Lori Ewing in Oberentfelden, Switzerland;Editing by Toby Davis)
