Exclusive: ‘Sometimes he comes to me before a fight’ – Emotional Oleksandr Usyk on late father

Oleksandr Usyk fought back tears as he recalled the impact his late father has had on his remarkable boxing journey.

In a wide-ranging interview with TNT Sports ahead of his undisputed heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury, Usyk welled up speaking about his father’s death just days after he had claimed Olympic gold for Ukraine at London 2012.

“He managed to watch me become an Olympic champion, but I didn’t make it on time to show him the gold medal,” Usyk told Steve Bunce.

“We were on the way back from London and I was already in one of the cities in Ukraine. Three more days and I would have been leaving but I was waiting for a supercar to arrive. I wanted to bring it with me and show him what a cool car I had. My mom called me at 3 am and told me [the news].

“When I arrived, he had already been lying in the wooden box [coffin]. I put down my bag, handed him the medal, held it like this with his dead arm and went out of the room.”

“When I was standing among these superstars,” Usyk said of the event, which was attended by the great and good of boxing, “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.”

Since his golden triumph in London, Usyk has enjoyed a flawless run on the professional circuit with a 21-0 record, including two wins over Anthony Joshua, but memories of his father are never far away.

“Sometimes, he comes to me the day before a fight,” he added. “And smiles.”

Told by Bunce that his father would be very proud of him, an emotional Usyk answered: “He would tell me that.”

He continued: “There is a story. When I wasn’t an Olympic champion, yet he used to say to his friends that I would become an Olympic champion.

“But they would say to this: ‘Who? Sanya [Oleksandr]? Stop joking around. How can he reach that level from here, Simferopol?’

“And he could beat them up for not believing!”

Usyk feels he has the psychological edge over Fury as their long-awaited showdown looms.

A bout between the pair has long been in the offing, with Usyk holding the WBO, IBF and WBA titles, while Fury has the WBC belt in his possession.

Despite it being the fight many fans and lovers of the sport want to see, the wait was made longer by Fury taking on former UFC champion Ngannou.

Usyk said he tried to encourage Fury from ringside and thinks the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ did just about enough to take the win.

“I even shouted at Tyson that he should use his jab faster,” Usyk said of Fury’s struggles on the night.

“From a boxing point of view, Tyson won the fight. But, of course, some additional characteristics come into the analysis, Ngannou is not a boxer and Tyson Fury is the heavyweight champion of the world.”

Asked whether Fury’s below-par performance was done on purpose to make Usyk think his job will be easier when they eventually meet, the Ukrainian said: “I think Tyson’s game was to relax me [before our fight]. But I understand that I have to work very hard to beat him in the ring.

“If he was performing – I think he deserves an Oscar.”

With Fury triumphant – yet beaten up – Usyk joined him in the ring as post-fight attentions turned to when the pair would be going head-to-head for the undisputed crowd.

There appeared to be little emotion or aggravation between the two fighters as they faced off, with Usyk questioned about why there was little hostility.

“From the point of view of a person who knows what boxing is, how hard it is after a fight, how you want to howl, not see anyone, rest in the dressing room – I didn’t want any bright emotions, I just wanted us to announce our fight.

“When we saw each other, I told him, ‘Mate, you need to take a proper rest now’.”

Fury is well known for his ability to play mind games and get inside the mind of an opponent in the build-up to a fight.

However, asked who currently has the upper hand between the pair, Usyk made his stance clear.

“I sit in his head like a little tractor driver,” he said.

Despite claiming to be in control, Usyk said he will not resort to cheap digs in order to wind Fury up as the intensity builds in the lead up to their fight.

Even though Fury struggled past Ngannou in the MMA star’s first boxing match, Usyk has promised not to use that as easy material in any trash talk.

“No, I am a man, I don’t work like that. Tyson Fury is closer to me than Ngannou. Ngannou is a nice guy and I respect him. I just can’t use dirty tricks. I have children and my sons watch me, many people watch and follow me.

“One cannot behave like a pig and remain a human being at the same time. If you behave like a pig, you are a pig,” he said.