Usyk starts heavyweight title week with focus on war in Ukraine

World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk kicked off the big fight build-up in London on Monday with a focus on war in his native Ukraine rather than anything he might face in the ring.

The unbeaten 38-year-old takes on Britain's IBF champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in a rematch for the undisputed title that puts the Ukrainian's own WBC, WBA and WBO belts on the line.

Usyk's first public appearance was in the city's central Trafalgar Square to unveil a recreated Ukrainian 'Kestrel' mosaic alongside British entrepreneur Richard Branson.

The original artwork, created in the now-Russian controlled port city of Mariupol in 1967, was severely damaged during the invasion that started in February 2022 and an identical copy has been funded by online retailer Rozetka and the Ukraine-wow agency.

Organisers say it will tour internationally as a symbol of repair and hope.

"Russia destroyed in my city, in my country, Russia destroyed hospitals, Russia destroyed schools, Russia destroyed Ukrainian lives," Usyk told the crowd, thanking Britain for its support for Ukraine.

"But we will survive. We will rebuild our country, like a mosaic, piece by piece."

The boxer then walked, surrounded by bodyguards and a scrum of fans, to nearby Pall Mall for photographs in front of a statue of 19th century nurse Florence Nightingale and the 1853-56 Crimean War memorial.

The Nightingale statue was holding a prosthetic limb, painted in the blue and yellow colours of Ukraine, over her usual oil lamp.

Branson, who stood alongside Usyk, is a backer of the Superhumans centre specialist clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates war victims.

Usyk, who was born in the Crimean city of Simferopol that was annexed by Russia in 2014, also launched a campaign through his foundation to raise funds to build four apartment buildings and house 64 displaced families in Ukraine.

The boxer spends time in Ukraine when not training in Spain and frequently references the situation in his country, campaigning for peace.

Last month he invited US President Donald Trump to live in his house in Ukraine for a week to help him understand what the country was going through.

"Only one week. I will give him my house. Live please in Ukraine and watch what is going on every night," he told the BBC. "Every night there are bombs and flights above my house. Bombs, rocket. Every night. It's enough."

Usyk and Dubois will have open workouts on Wednesday, a final face-to-face press conference at Wembley on Thursday and the public weigh-in on Friday.

The fight, made by Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Season, is live on DAZN worldwide.

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