Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk clinched a unanimous decision victory over British Derek Chisora in the United Kingdom on Oct. 31, getting two scores of 115-113 and one of 117-112 from the judges after 12 rounds.
It’s the 18th fight 33-year-old Usyk has won in a row and his second fight in the heavyweight division. Now he is the mandatory challenger for the title of World Boxing Organization (WBO), which is currently held by British boxer Anthony Joshua.
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After the boxing match, Usyk told British TV channel SkySports that he gave himself three out of 10 for his performance at Wembley’s SSE Arena in London.
“It’s a real test at heavyweight,” Usyk told the journalists. “Chisora is a big, hard guy. I fought his fight but I was expecting an even tougher fight.”
He added that he aims to be the undisputed world champion.
Meanwhile, Chisora said he deserved to win this fight: “I’m just disappointed with the result, gutted.”
Former U.K. boxer Audley Harrison, an Olympic gold medallist, wrote on Twitter that Chisora fought his heart out and did everything he could to break Usyk down.
“A classic boxer versus the slugger match up, but the right man won,” Harrison said.
Back in 2012, Chisora already met a Ukrainian in a ring — he fought and lost to former Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitschko, who’s now the mayor of Kyiv.
Usyk is famous for his sport achievements and notorious for his controversial political views. While Russia occupies Crimea and wages the war in eastern Ukraine, which has killed at least 13,000 people since 2014, he’s been filmed for a Russian movie, supported the Russian Orthodox Church and said he thinks “Ukrainians and Russians are one people”.
In 2016, journalists asked the Crimea-born boxer whether Crimea was Russian or Ukrainian. He responded: “Crimea is Crimea”. Then he added, “Crimea is God’s.”
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