He was a hooligan at school and almost died: how Oleksandr Usyk looked like in his youth

In eight weeks, unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) will have a rematch with British boxer Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs). Over the 10 years of his professional career, the native of Simferopol has written his name in the history of boxing, having collected all the belts in two weight categories at once.

Interestingly, Oleksandr joined the boxing section very late - at the age of 15. Coach Serhiy Lapin Sr. allowed Usyk to train only because his son brought the future star of the amateur and professional rings to the gym.

"He was too old for boxing. And he was sickly - asthma, his chest was not developed. But my eldest son Serhiy brought him. I told him to go and work with him. Serhiy beat him, beat him, beat him... I thought that he would not come back after such missed punches. But Sasha came! Persistent!" Lapin recalled.

In the second grade, Usyk became very ill: "I had bilateral pneumonia, a terrible disease. The doctor told my mom that I might not survive. I was sick for about a year and spent almost all of that time in the hospital - two months there, two weeks at home. My grandmother took me to church, and I was curious: I watched and listened to the service, I liked the smell of incense, and looked at the icons."

It is interesting that in his youth, people around him noted Usyk's artistry and advised him to enter a theater university. Oleksandr himself did not hide the fact that he was a hooligan at school - he threw cans, stole apples from neighboring plots, and fought in the sixth or seventh grade. Although he studied well, he helped his mother milk cows at home.

OBOZ.UA offers its readers to see how Oleksandr Usyk looked like in his childhood and youth.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Oleksandr Usyk radically changed his image before his rematch with Tyson Fury. At a press conference in London, the Ukrainian appeared in an unexpected look.

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