Former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, Oleksandr Usyk is the latest in the long line of combat sports stars to voice their disgruntlement with this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, France – particularly voicing his displeasure with the much-scrutinzed boxing competition, which he described as “rotten”.
Usyk, a native of Ukraine, became undisputed heavyweight world champion in professional boxing back in May, handing British heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury his first professional loss in a one-sided unanimous decision win in Riyadh to snatch the undisputed WBC heavyweight crown.
And expected to take on the Morecambe native at the end of the year in an immediate championship rematch, Oleksandr Usyk, who featured at the Olympic Games in 2012 back in London, won the gold medal at the men’s heavyweight limit.
Oleksandr Usyk labels current Olympic boxing regime “rotten”
However, amid criticizm over the competing of both Imane Khelif and Taiwan native Ling Yu-ting, heavyweight world champion, Usyk has called for a complete reform of the Games’ boxing system, labelling the current regime as “rotten”.
“For many years, there has been a desire to change the boxing system, which is rotten on an international level,” Oleksandr Usyk told SNTV during a recent interview. “So, we just need to work. No promises need to be made; we need to act. When you do this, people see the work done and come to you, asking to collaborate.”
A decorated amateur boxing star, Usyk retired from the amateur scene boasting a stunning 335-15 record, besting the trio of Clemente Russo, Tervel Pulev, and current WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev en route to his gold medal victory in London at the heavyweight limit.
Unbeaten during his professional career in boxing, with his one-sided decision win over Fury earlier this year in the Middle East, Usyk improved to 22-0 as a professional.