Oleksandr Usyk became emotional and shed tears when discussing his father’s death in an interview released this week.
Usyk was in attendance in Saudi Arabia last weekend, along with a whole host of boxing greats and praised his father for helping him reach the top.
Usyk said:
“When I was standing among these superstars – I spoke to Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, all these stars…I was thinking about my dad and I thanked him.”
“I knew he was watching down on me.”
The Ukrainian’s father passed away in 2012, just days after he witnessed his son win Olympic gold for his country.
The Heavyweight shared a touching but heartbreaking story:
“He watched me become Olympic champion, but I didn’t make it back in time to show him the gold medal.”
“When I arrived he was already lying in the coffin.
“I handed him the medal, put it in his dead hand and then left the room.”
“Sometimes he comes to me the day before the fight.”
At this point in the interview Usyk became very emotional and said:
“Don’t cry, you’re a man.”
“Yes, sometimes he comes the day before the fight and smiles.”
You can watch the full clip below:
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