By no means is Oleksandr Usyk regarded as a haughty boxer.
The current unified heavyweight world champion, once the undisputed cruiserweight king, is renowned for his humility and respect, to the extent that he hardly ever even calls out his opponents directly.
But in 2013, as he was getting ready for his professional debut, the youthful Usyk gave Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko a straight challenge live on Ukrainian TV.
At the time, he was only 26 years old and had just won gold at the Olympics as an amateur.
When Usyk decided to go pro, he signed a promotional contract with K2 Promotions, the Klitschkos’ business.
Consequently, the host put him in an embarrassing situation when he inquired how he would try to defeat the brothers, who were the heavyweight world champions at the moment, when he appeared alongside them on TV.
“Great, another good question,” Usyk answered.
“I believe I can get to K2 Promotions very soon because I have a deal with them signed.
“And I have a question for Wladimir. I know what I’m attempting to sign up for because I attended your training camp and saw all the preparation.
Do you intend to step down from the belts and retire when I come to you, or will I have to face you in the ring?
I apologise to Vitali, but he is also the champion, and he is also concerned about this.
“A wonderful question Oleksandr, I can say only that you will never have a fight with me,” was Vitali’s first response.
“We’ll try our hardest to set up a duel between you and the world title belt.
It should take a year or two for you to get experience.
“And Wladimir will undoubtedly respond on his own.”
In response, Wladimir did say, “I want you to know how much I admire this young man who won the Olympics.
“He’s really brave to formally challenge me on TV right now, regardless of what he saw at my training camp, or my sparring sessions, or me working in the ring.
I can only ask him to my sparring practice, though.
Usyk answered, “I’m glad you invited me.”
