Oleksandr Usyk left Polish security stunned after he drove across the Poland-Ukraine border alone just days after Russia invaded his beloved country. The unified heavyweight champion was the only driver on the road but was determined to get home to his family.
Usyk opened up on the war in Ukraine among many other topics in a wide-ranging interview with ex-Manchester United star Gary Neville on the latest edition of Sky Sport’s Overlap.
“My daughter had a birthday on February 24 and then I went to London. I got to my room and read an SMS from my wife, saying a war had started,” said Usyk. “I wanted to go back home so I changed my ticket and flew to Poland. I called my friend to pick me up and we went through customs into Ukraine and to Kyiv.
“Maybe about 300 kilometres into Kyiv, there was a lot of traffic coming out. My car was the only one going into Kyiv. The Polish security said, ‘hey Olek, where are you going?’ I said, ‘I’m going home’.
Usyk is currently in negotiations with WBC champion Tyson Fury to stage the first undisputed bout of the four-belt era on April 29 at London’s Wembley Stadium. The pair have been attempting to thrash out a deal for quite some time although it is understood that both parties are butting heads over the final purse splits.
Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk refuses to accept anything less than a 50-50 purse split while Fury’s side is reportedly angling for a lion’s share of the prize pot. If the fight is unable to be concluded in the coming weeks, then Fury will face a different opponent on the same date in a similar fashion to when his December showdown with Anthony Joshua broke down and Derek Chisora was brought in as the replacement.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren recently told Express Sport that he is hoping they won’t go down this route but admits there are several terms to iron out before they can sign on the dotted line.