Oleksandr Usyk trained in Spain for his rescheduled bout with Tyson Fury, therefore he was unable to witness the birth of his daughter.
On February 17, Usyk was supposed to battle Fury for the undisputed heavyweight world titles. However, the British fighter withdrew from the bout with less than two weeks’ notice due to a cut he sustained during sparring. While Usyk was spending many months getting ready in Spain for the bout, Fury had been training in Saudi Arabia since New Year’s Eve.
Yekaterina, Usyk’s wife of 15 years, gave birth last Thursday in Ukraine, but Usyk was unable to be there to support her. Together, Kyrylo, Mykhalio, Yelizaveta, and their newborn daughter make up the couple’s current family of four. According to Emanuel Odiase, Usyk’s sparring partner, “I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but he missed his baby’s birth for this,” to Mirror Fighting.
“When his wife gave birth in Ukraine, he was in Spain getting ready. It must be especially annoying for him because he was so preoccupied with camp that he ended up staying in Spain and missing it. Although he has spent the last two or three months in Spain, his daughter was just born a few days ago.
As good as ever, he had the best appearance at this camp. I believe he experienced it too. He was in excellent shape when the bout was abruptly called off. He’s a man, and I doubt he’ll get sidetracked. It’s annoying, but that’s life; I hope them have good health and all the best in the world. It is not beneficial for you to let that kind of material get inside your head, so you need to maintain your composure.”
Former world champion Johnny Nelson claims that Usyk was apparently enjoying a fantastic training camp and that several of his sparring partners had to reduce the number of rounds they were sparring after suffering severe defeats. Odiase repeated remarks that Usyk was in excellent shape for the unfortunate duel.
He’s been at his best during training camp, so it will irritate him. He has previously done that; in March of last year, I was in Turkey while he was getting ready for their bout, which was meant to take place in April but never did. He is ready for the style that Fury will bring to the table and is in excellent form,” Odiase continued.
