Russian world champion accuses Oleksandr Usyk of cowardice

World light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) accused Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) of refusing to fight him in person. The 39-year-old boxer, who calls the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov his brother, said he was not offended by this.

Beterbiev said this in an interview with Aslanbek Badayev's YouTube channel. The Russian, who hides behind the Canadian flag to avoid the ban on championship fights involving representatives of the Russian Federation, added that Usyk showed excellent results.

"When Usyk became the absolute cruiserweight champion, I told my managers to organize a fight with Usyk. But they didn't say anything. They didn't talk publicly that they refused. They couldn't say it openly. I wanted to fight Usyk. I have no resentment towards him. I am often asked about this... He made a good result in sports. This is just respect, respect for the result. And some other moments are his own problems. Let him deal with it himself," Beterbiev said.

On January 13, the Dagestani defeated the British Callum Smith (29-2, 21 KOs), and after the fight he began chanting pro-Russian slogans, "Chechnya is strong, Akhmat is strong, Ramzan is a champion." It should be noted that Usyk defeated Beterbiev at the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.

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