World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk swapped his boxing gloves for football boots this week after announcing that he will play in a friendly match for Ukrainian club FC Polissya.
The 35-year-old was seen training with the side, who play in the Ukrainian First League Persha Liha, which is the second tier of Ukrainian football, ahead of their upcoming game on Thursday.
Video footage from the session showed Usyk being put through his paces as he completed a series of drills, which included some ladder work, dribbling in and out of cones and some heading practice.
The Cat can also be seen participating in a light run, doing some keep ups and pitting his skills against the pros in a training match.
FC Polissya are currently on winter break, with their league season due to get back underway in March.
Their director Volodymyr Zagursky spoke to Ukrainian news site The Times Hub earlier this week about Usyk’s chances of making the side.
“If Usyk strengthens our team, we will offer a professional contract,” he said. “If not, we will just give a chance to try his hand at football. What will Usyk's participation in the tournament look like?
“These moments are kept secret. Watch the tournament and you will see everything.”
While the likelihood of a professional football career is apparently performance dependant, Usyk is set to return to the boxing ring later this year in a hotly anticipated rematch with Anthony Joshua.
He got the better of the Brit when the pair met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in September and will be hoping for another victory this time around.
Joshua, meanwhile, is set to reveal a new trainer ahead of his training camp after splitting from Rob McCracken following the second defeat of his career.
Should Usyk win the fight, which is expected to take place in either March or April of this year, he will likely take on the winner of Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte's WBC title clash. The resulting bout would, in turn, crown the first undisputed heavyweight king in over two decades.
Quite how Usyk would succeed in becoming just the second fighter ever to become an undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, after Evander Holyfield, while also playing professional football, remains to be seen.
For now, though, the champ appears to be enjoying himself while also staying in tip top condition.
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 02 Feb 2022, 13:04
by Ruthless-RKO
He's a legend isn't he..
I watched the clip before as well.
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 02 Feb 2022, 13:07
by Ruthless-RKO
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 03 Feb 2022, 13:14
by daz74
adam smith is just hoping AJ will stay loyal and fight Usyk on Sky. Bearing in mind we can’t be far off an announcement shouldn’t he be a bit more bullish ? maybe AJ stays loyal to Hearn and fights on the launch of DAZN PPV ?
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 04 Feb 2022, 07:01
by Ruthless-RKO
Hearn: Joshua Pumped For Rematch, Says He Will Beat Usyk Without a Trainer
"He will make changes to his training team. But when I sat down with him last Monday about the step aside, he said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘But you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’ He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.‘ He’s pumped for that fight, and it’s a really tough fight," Hearn told The MMA Hour.
"[Usyk is] really good. So it’s a tough fight for AJ. I just hope that AJ gets the credit for the fights that he takes. How many fighters honestly would have taken the Usyk fight if they were in Joshua’s position? How many would have vacated the belt and gone, ‘Oh, no, we’re going down another route.’ He wants this fight, and now he’s fighting him again straight off the bat. So May time is when we’re planning on doing that fight in the UK."
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 04 Feb 2022, 19:02
by gregregegg
AJ has no trainer, Usyk is playing pro football and the clock is ticking....
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 04 Feb 2022, 19:09
by margaret thatcher
so if he has no trainer, will he shout 'brilliant AJ!' to himself and give himself his own reach arounds between rounds?
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 04 Feb 2022, 19:15
by polecateddy
Danny Williams did the whole no trainer thing at the end of the line (or the endless end of the line in his case).
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 04 Feb 2022, 20:18
by Ruthless-RKO
gregregegg wrote: ↑04 Feb 2022, 19:02
AJ has no trainer, Usyk is playing pro football and the clock is ticking....
He missed a sitter..
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
unknownman79 wrote: ↑05 Feb 2022, 06:00
Usyk looks like hes shrunk hmmm.
Did you weigh him?
what do you think "looks like" means?... it definatly doesnt mean "i personaly measured his weight and confirmed its reduced"
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 05 Feb 2022, 07:19
by Counter-puncher
margaret thatcher wrote: ↑04 Feb 2022, 19:09
so if he has no trainer, will he shout 'brilliant AJ!' to himself and give himself his own reach arounds between rounds?
I rewatched that fight again the other day. I think I’ve seen it 4 times. The amount of times Joby yells ‘brilliant boxing’ just before or after Joshua gets punched in the face is always good for a laugh. I may actually keep count next time, I bet I get to double figures
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 05 Feb 2022, 07:23
by Counter-puncher
Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑04 Feb 2022, 07:01Hearn: Joshua Pumped For Rematch, Says He Will Beat Usyk Without a Trainer
"He will make changes to his training team. But when I sat down with him last Monday about the step aside, he said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘But you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’ He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.‘ He’s pumped for that fight, and it’s a really tough fight,"
oh, Eddie
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑04 Feb 2022, 07:01Hearn: Joshua Pumped For Rematch, Says He Will Beat Usyk Without a Trainer
"He will make changes to his training team. But when I sat down with him last Monday about the step aside, he said, ‘I’ll beat Usyk.’ I said, ‘But you haven’t started working with your new trainer yet.’ He said, ‘I’ll beat him without a trainer.‘ He’s pumped for that fight, and it’s a really tough fight,"
oh, Eddie
Edward also said Andy Lee was probably the best trainer in the world to Sonny Bill Williams on his BBC podcast... The guy is 100% salesman.
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
margaret thatcher wrote: ↑04 Feb 2022, 19:09
so if he has no trainer, will he shout 'brilliant AJ!' to himself and give himself his own reach arounds between rounds?
I rewatched that fight again the other day. I think I’ve seen it 4 times. The amount of times Joby yells ‘brilliant boxing’ just before or after Joshua gets punched in the face is always good for a laugh. I may actually keep count next time, I bet I get to double figures
Maybe he was shouting that to Usyk?
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 06 Feb 2022, 07:00
by stujones
I cannot see this fight happening in April. Ridiculous really
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 06 Feb 2022, 07:33
by BigDoofus
stujones wrote: ↑06 Feb 2022, 07:00
I cannot see this fight happening in April. Ridiculous really
Big Josh looks like he's been doing his overseas bulking. He'll have to sort out his "nutritional" cycles before he can sign anything.
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 16 Feb 2022, 11:48
by Ruthless-RKO
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 16 Feb 2022, 11:49
by Dioufy
How shit would that be
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022
Posted: 16 Feb 2022, 11:53
by Ruthless-RKO
Attendance: 20 people.
Price per ticket $1m
Re: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II - April 2022