Fresh from his era-defining victory over Tyson Fury to become the unified world heavyweight champion, icon Oleksandr Usyk is taking on an unexpected new role.
Oleksandr Usyk is set to become the latest fighter to appear in a blockbuster movie as he prepares to feature alongside Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in an upcoming film. The Ukrainian boxing hero will appear on the silver screen in the upcoming film, "The Smashing Machine", which will see him play an MMA star.
Also starring Hollywood actress Emily Blunt and MMA star Ryan Badder, the newly-crowned unified world heavyweight champion will tackle the role of countryman Igor Vovchanchyn. Set for release in 2025, the movie represents a major departure from Usyk's usual guise, as he follows in the footsteps of fighter Conor McGregor, who also made his acting debut this year.
This unexpected development comes as Usyk basks in the glory of his triumph over Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia, which saw him make history. Becoming the first star in his weight division to unite the titles since Lennox Lewis at the turn of the century, his tenure as the holder of four belts will be short, however.
That is because 'The Cat' will soon have his IBF belt stripped, with this also coming after he was handed a suspension by the British Boxing Board of Control until June 2. Although no official reason has been provided for this call, it is likely that this is down to the broken jaw that he sustained versus Fury.
Either way, it would appear that Usyk will not be too perturbed by this decision after confirming that he is looking forward to a break after intense preparations for his era-defining fight on May 18. He confessed after beating Fury: "I don't want to think about boxing now. My camp started in September 2023 and I worked for nine months.
"I missed Happy New Year, I missed my son's birthday, I missed my other son's birthday, I missed my daughter's birthday and then the birth of my daughter. I also missed family holidays. I was only focused on this fight. Now I'm happy and I want to go back home."
As for his opponent earlier this month, it appears that the Brit has a similar mindset when it comes to his plans for the near future. After losing in Riyadh, he initially appeared disgruntled, saying: "I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majorty. It was one of the daftest decisions in boxing. I'll be back. The good little man got the decision.
However, he did make a telling statement as he confirmed his desire for a break before a re-match later in the year, adding: "We'll go back to our families and I'll see him again in October. We'll go back, rest up. I believe I won the fight but I'm not going to sit and cry and make excuses. We'll run it again in October."
Likewise, promoter Frank Warren confirmed that his client is seeking another bout against the man who inflicted the first defeat of his professional career. He said: "When the fight was made, there was a rematch clause. That was the condition that was required by the people who invested in the fight and so if Tyson wants it, and he has said he does want it, then it will go ahead.
"But I told him to go off... he's had six months in training camp. He's had three weeks with his family in that time. I told him to go and enjoy it with his family, sit down then come back. Contractually it's there and if he wants to come back and do it then fine.
Taking heed of the advice from Warren, Fury said: "I'll go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, have some family time, walk the dog, go to the tip. I will regroup and then me and (promoter) Frank Warren will talk about what's going to happen in the future. I'll speak to the wife and kids and see what I want to do. If there's going to be another fight in October, well then Rock'n Roll Sally. Get up!"
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