"Tired - then die": why the victory over Russia will be twofold and what lots raised millions for the Armed Forces, said the famous boxer and coach

Former boxer of the Ukrainian national team and coach of WBO International lightweight champion Denis Berinchyk (18-0, 9 KOs), Yehor Holub, during the full-scale war with Russia, is actively helping our defenders, especially the "Honor" unit, which at one time held the last road to Bakhmut. Yehor raises hundreds of thousands of hryvnias for the soldiers, but unfortunately, some of his friends are gone.

In a commentary to OBOZ.UA, Holub told about the lots that brought the most money, what he would ask people who are already tired of the war, and also remembered the fallen boxer defenders.

- Oleksiy 'Tikhiy' Naida was a close friend of mine who died on July 19. Zheka Svetlichny... Well, he was not a boxer, but an actor and a master of sports in free-fighting. They both died during the same operation. Oleg Prudky, with whom I was in the national team. Maxim Galinichev, a finalist in the Youth Olympic Games, also died.

I would say that we were friends with Oleksiy "The Quiet One" for 12 years, so this is such a painful loss for our entire Gonor family. I even went to the last fight with Denis wearing a T-shirt with a portrait of Tikhiy and Zheka. It was a very heavy loss, a very strong stab in the back for us. They say that there are no irreplaceable people, but this is not true. They do exist. And these were our friends. Unfortunately...

- I know that Oleksiy came to boxing late. Wasn't it you who pushed him back then?

- No, no. He came to training. But it wasn't me.

- What can you remember now about Oleh Prudky, who died last year in a rocket attack?

- We were once in the same national team. He was a very nice person. He was like a dandelion. He was a very, very kind and cool guy who had a family and daughters. Tykhyi also has a daughter, so it's very, very difficult.

- You help a lot with the Honor unit, which is part of the Da Vinci Wolves.

- The basis of "Honor" is my close friends. The company commander and everyone else. Vasyl Hrytsenko was also wounded during the operation when Oleksiy was killed, and lost a limb.

- You hold many auctions in your social networks to support Ukrainian defenders. Which sports lots brought in the most money?

- The biggest was 1.2 million hryvnias for gloves from Yaroslav Amosov's Bellator MMA fight. Then there was Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United shirt, which was bought for one million and 50,000, all the money went to Vasyl Hrytsenko's treatment and recovery. And 950,000 hryvnias were paid for the cover from the Neptune anti-ship missile that sank the Moskva cruiser. I can't say who gave it to us, but the person who invented Neptune signed the cover for us.

- Recently, there have been talks about war fatigue, and volunteers' fundraising is getting worse. When you organize a fundraiser or raffle off another lot, do you feel that there is less support?

- I understand that people are tired. Everyone is tired. But aren't those guys in the trenches tired? I have a question for everyone. You can sleep in your beds, dry and warm. You are well and warmly dressed, you have hot and cold water, you can wash yourselves, eat hot food. Everyone is tired, so what do you do? Tell this to the guys who are making this topic.

How are the lots going? I don't know... Thank God, we have meetings. I understand that some people are not doing well. And I think that 3.5, 6 or 10 hryvnias every day is not very much. You go to work and thanks to these guys you can work, earn money, it all goes in a circle. That's why we need to help the guys, because they pay a very high price.

And the one who is tired... There is a saying from sports: if you are tired, die.

- Denys Berinchyk once told me that he really wanted to fight, but they wouldn't take him, saying that you have to do your job. Did you ever think about taking up arms and going to the front?

- Yes, it was. But the commander of the Honor company stopped me. He told me to go and do my job: all you can do there is to get back and drag someone else with you. He said: go and train people, and only those who are trained should fight. Of course, you can just quit in the heat of the moment, but the efficiency will be low. And here I can help as I am now.

- By the way, you have recently started training the famous Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Zakhozhy. How did it happen?

- He wrote to me himself, then came to me, and I said: "Let's try it". We haven't held a single fight yet, but we'll see what happens next. As a coach, I am interested. I can say that this is a new experience for me. Not that it's a different sport, but a boxer of this weight needs something completely different, not like Denis. So it's interesting and, God willing, everything will work out.

- What do you think will bring our victory closer?

- Unity of people.

- What would you like to do first when we win this war?

- I don't think about it. Victory is such a word... God help me, I believe in it very much, but I won't bring back my dead friends. It is like that, everyone will have two sides.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!