From "Cossack" to "Joker": bright images of Oleksandr Usyk before battles

Boxer Oleksandr Usyk will meet British athlete Anthony Joshua in a rematch on Saturday, August 20. The Ukrainian athlete surprised journalists and boxing fans by attending the final press conference before the fight in a Cossack costume.

Usyk is football: in the form of a fan of "Manchester City"

At the weigh-in ceremony before the fight with Tony Bellew, which took place on November 10, 2018 in Manchester, the Ukrainian athlete wore a scarf of "ManCity" - the football club that won the national championship of England in the 2018/19 season.

Presumably, Usyk's team knew that his opponent was a fan of another English club, Everton, and tried to target the Briton that way. The fight ended with a victory in favor of the Ukrainian - Usyk knocked out Belya in the eighth round.

Supervillain Whisker: as the Joker

Before the first fight with another British athlete - Anthony Joshua, which took place on September 25 last year in London, the Ukrainian appeared at the battle of looks in a Joker costume - first a comic character, and later the hero of the DC superhero films. Usyk tried on the image of the Joker from the 2019 film directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix.

The fight lasted all twelve rounds, after which the victory was awarded to Oleksandr Usyk by a unanimous decision. Immediately after the fight, Anthony Joshua announced that he would activate the clause for an immediate rematch with Usyk, which was supposed to take place in the spring of 2022.

Cossack moustache: with bangs and an embroidered jacket

In the image of a Cossack, the Ukrainian boxer decided to attend a battle of views before Joshua's second meeting, which will take place on August 20 in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia. In particular, Usyk came out to the British with a forelock, an embroidered jacket, a necklace and other characteristic elements of style.

On the stage, the Ukrainian athlete put on a real performance, singing the song "Oh, there's a red viburnum in the meadow", which became one of the symbols of Ukraine's full-scale war against the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian will try to defend the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world super heavyweight titles.

Usyk-hetman: with mace and saber

The boxer rarely tried on unusual images, but there was another case when he decided to surprise the audience directly in the ring. And it is not about his own battle. In April 2016, Usyk, dressed as a Ukrainian hetman — with a mace, hat, saber, and other paraphernalia — challenged his colleague, Denys Berinchyk, who, in turn, defeated the Argentine Emiliano Martin Garcia.

In other cases, the Ukrainian boxer appeared before the fights in the classic form - with a bare torso, in sports or casual clothes.