Oleksandr Usyk: ‘In the first month of war I lost 10lb, but now feel incredibly strong’

“It was the day she turned 12 and so of course she cried a bit,” Oleksandr Usyk says quietly as he remembers how his daughter Yelizaveta’s birthday was overshadowed earlier this year, on 24 February, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine. The world heavyweight champion runs his hand through his damp hair, which is cut in the style of a Cossack warrior, and for a moment it feels as if he is back home on that terrible winter morning when the first bombs rained down.

“My wife spoke to her, explaining what had happened, and soon my daughter understood very well what we are all facing in Ukraine,” Usyk says. “It was difficult but she got it and the main thing is that she is safe now. She will be OK.”

On a ferociously hot Saturday evening for him in Dubai, almost six months since that abandoned birthday party, the ominous shadow of war still hangs over Usyk as he prepares to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Anthony Joshua. This coming Saturday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Usyk and Joshua will step into the ring for their fascinating rematch.

Usyk stripped Joshua of all his belts with an imperious performance in London last September. But all the typical hoopla of a world heavyweight title fight, at least for the new champion, gives way to more humane concerns. He is not interested in making any predictions of what may unfold between the ropes – or whether Joshua, who is now being guided by Robert Garcia, the outstanding Mexican-American trainer, will tear up his mistaken strategy from the first fight.

All the indications are that Joshua will opt for a much more aggressive approach and look to use his considerable physical advantages to try to hurt and even knock out Usyk. The Ukrainian is the superior and more