Thunder is rumbling on two fronts for Oleksandr Usyk: the boxing arena where he prepares to fight Tyson Fury DAZN PPV this Saturday, and the war-torn fields of his homeland. In an exclusive Mail Sport interviewhe shared a touching moment that transcended mere sport. The Ukrainian heavyweight carefully unfolded a letter from a front-line soldier with the same name, Oleksandr, call sign “Shket.” This fighter of the armed forces of Ukraine poured his soul on paper and praised Usyk for carrying the torch of Ukrainian boxing.
“Dear Mr. Oleksandr,” the letter begins. “My brothers and I watch all your fights whenever possible and root for you wholeheartedly.” Those words rang out like gunfire, charged with emotion and pride. The soldier told of brutal postings at Kiev, Bakhmut and Kherson, and described how each of Usyk’s victories blazed like a fiery beacon cutting through the darkness of war. “We know what hard work is and what every victory is worth,” he wrote, tying the blood and sweat of the battlefield to the spirit of the boxing ring.
Usyk, who once enlisted in the Kyiv Territorial Defense to protect his homeland, felt every syllable strike as a call to arms. When he finished reading, he looked up, eyes blazing with conviction. “It gives me extra motivation,” he declared. “I am very grateful to Oleksandr and our Ukrainian soldiers who support my country and fight to protect it. I do it for them.”
Mail Sport joined him in camp ahead of his December 21 rematch with Fury. But beyond the lines, the conflict in Ukraine looms like a storm cloud.
