How Usyk earned money for the wedding and why he gave up the United States for his wife: the champion celebrated the 15th anniversary of the marriage he had to fight for

On September 25, Ukrainian world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) celebrated his 15th wedding anniversary with his charming wife Kateryna, whom he calls his queen. The titled boxer is very grateful to his beloved for his four wonderful children and constant support, as she was by his side even in the most difficult times and always worries about him in the front row.

Usyk confirmed that they have been together for about 20 years, and during this time they have gone through the trials of fame, parting with their home in Crimea and long-distance relationships, as the champion was away for long periods of time at training camps and various competitions.

Oleksandr was artistic and restless since childhood, so sitting through all the lessons at school was a challenge for him. But it was there that he met his future wife Kateryna, who had been dancing for a long time before marriage. They met when the future champion was 15 and the girl was almost 14.

"When young guys my age were out enjoying the warm summer, I was dying in the gym. I didn't hang out with girls, I didn't get high. I was friends with a girl named Kateryna. I dreamed that she would be my wife and we would have many children. And so it happened," Oleksandr admitted.

Although, according to Usyk, it all started "on a friendly basis." "I could walk her home and go home myself. But I liked her, and I began to show sympathy, asking her to go for a walk."

As Kateryna herself once admitted, she was not impressed by Usyk at first: "I did not consider him at all... Except as a friend. And he said: "If I win the fight today, will you go out with me tonight?" I said: "Win, and then we'll see."

Oleksandr remembers that it was the Crimean championship in 2003. He fought a guy who was older than him and "really kicked his ass," but the future champion was not awarded the victory. But an older friend gave Usyk a prize of 200 hryvnias for a very good fight, which was a lot of money at the time. With this money, Usyk bought Kateryna a rose and asked her to date him, and she agreed.

"I said that I would live with her all my life, and we would have many children, and then many grandchildren. This girl, and today my wife Kateryna Mykhailivna, helped me become who I am today," Usyk told Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel.

But before the wedding, the young people had been dating for almost 6 years, and there was a difficult time in the couple's relationship when the boxer almost lost his love: "Maybe it was because of my vanity, but I changed my attitude to life."

According to Usyk, he fell into the clutches of fame around 2006. The boxer was 19 years old, he had just become a bronze medalist at the European Adult Championships, an international master of sports, and he was given a raise and a bonus: "Of course, I thought I was very cool! I think we even had a fight with my current wife once and broke up."

But faith helped him to fix the situation. Oleksandr came to his spiritual director and told him honestly about what was happening. With his help, the athlete managed to cope with the star disease.

"I lost the next Ukrainian championship, didn't go to the European championship. I moved to a different weight category and, by the way, gave up boxing. I thought that was it, that was the final stop. I thought I would enter the theater school. But it so happened that I won the next Ukrainian championship and got into physical education," Oleksandr says.

After the test of fame, Usyk's career took off again, he competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, then won the European Championships in Liverpool in the weight class of 81 kg in the fall. After returning from the 2009 World Cup, the two got married in Crimea on September 25.

But none of the boxer's parents knew about the lovers' intentions until the last moment. He simply invited them to come to Crimea. And for winning the European Championship, the president of the club that Usyk represented paid him a fee of $10,000. Oleksandr really wanted a car, but he used the money to buy his parents a house and celebrate their wedding.

"We had planned the wedding before. But when I came back after the World Cup, everything happened very quickly - literally in a week. My wife was already pregnant, so I had to speed up. We quickly organized the wedding, spontaneously, but it turned out very cool - with friends and family," Oleksandr Usyk later recalled.

"Sasha didn't have time to propose to me - Lisa came up with the idea faster. We had a very modest wedding, because at that time we didn't even have the opportunity to pay for a rented apartment," said Kateryna, who, throwing a glass for good luck, hit a car from the wedding procession.

When the boxer was 22 years old, his young wife gave him a daughter, Elizabeth. At first, she was very worried about what kind of father Oleksandr would make, but it turned out that she was right. If the athlete was at home and not at a training camp or competition, it was no problem for him to wake up at night and help with the child.

"My daughter was my salvation. Then everything changed dramatically inside. It was like some cavity in my head was filled with gray liquid, and you realized that that's it, you have a child, you have to work, you have to raise her," Usyk told Efrosynina frankly.

After Liza, the boxer's family had two sons, Kyrylo and Mykhailo: "I am in favor of every family having at least 3-4 children. I want a demographic increase in the country. I want more Ukrainian women and men. Our first child was out of love, the second was planned, and the third happened as it did, we didn't plan it. She said: "I'm pregnant".

In January 2024, Usyk's family welcomed a fourth child, a girl named Maria.

In Crimea, before the Russian occupation, the Ukrainian authorities allocated Oleksandr an apartment in a new building in Simferopol. For some time, the boxer's family did not want to leave the peninsula, and after 2014, it was difficult for Kateryna to leave her home and family. However, Usyk made it clear that he was a Ukrainian boxer and represented only his country, so he lived and trained in Kyiv almost all the time.

Soon after, he moved his family to the capital as well - in Vorzel, on a plot of 8 acres, Oleksandr built a cozy two-story house with a terrace and balcony. During the Russian invasion of 2022, Usyk's mansion was occupied, and the Russian military behaved like pigs on the territory.

Ironically, it was Kateryna, who waged her own information war against the Russians after the Russian invasion of 2022, who left the boxer in Ukraine. After all, he did not move to the United States because of his wife: "I almost had a contract with an American company. One of the reasons I refused was that I knew I could lose my family. It was Kateryna's reluctance to go to America."

"Yes, I don't mind. But maybe we'll think about it. Maybe you can go for a month." I say that it won't work for a month. If I went, it would be for at least six months, seven months. I really realized that if I went away for six months, it could turn out that I would come back as a complete stranger to her, and she would become one for me," the boxer admitted.

Now Oleksandr has another plot of land in the Kyiv region where the occupiers have not set foot. There, Usyk has set up a small farm where he grows blueberries and strawberries and prepares the soil for when he retires from his career and spends more time with his family.

By the way, Usyk's warmest dinners for two are not in fancy restaurants: "The coolest romance we have is not restaurants. Because you have to take at least five photos there, and that's it. The coolest romance is when we order crayfish and beer, turn on a TV show with Kateryna, and sit in the kitchen chopping crayfish. That's how it goes."

And for more than 20 years together, the boxer's love for his soulmate has not faded, but only grown stronger.

"My incredible Kateryna, my flower, the light of my eyes. During this time, we have achieved a lot with you, we had many difficulties that we were able to overcome together, you gave me incredible children. You have changed my life, you have given me wings, you continue to make me happy and strong, your care is felt even at a distance, I am often not around, but you always support me in all my goals," Oleksandr congratulated his beloved on his anniversary.

"Yes, you sometimes don't like what I do, and you always tell me the truth. I like to just look at you, I love your breakfasts incredibly, when I was little, I drew an image of my future wife, and the Lord sent me you. Every day in prayer I thank God for you, my queen," Usyk added.

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