Krassyuk: "This is the Peak of My Career"

On the night of May 19, in Saudi Arabia, Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, while in the United States, Denys Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs) won the WBO lightweight title.

Both Ukrainians are clients of promoter and Ready To Fight CBDO Alexander Krassyuk. In an interview with Boxing King Media, Alexander shared what these events mean for his career and recounted a memorable story about Berinchyk.

"This is the peak of my career. I've been in boxing for almost 20 years, and this has never happened before. I've never had a two-time undisputed champion. I think not only me but many other promoters have never experienced something like this. On the same night, one becomes undisputed, and the other across the ocean wins the WBO title. When I start talking about this, I feel pressure in my chest because you can't imagine how much work went into this, how hard it was for me.

I have a funny story about Berinchyk. After the 2012 Olympics, I told myself, 'Listen, Usyk is a gold medalist. Do you have enough resources to sign the Olympic champion in cruiserweight?' I doubted, I didn't think about it. But Berinchyk was a silver medalist, and he was the first guy I approached with an offer, and it's a very funny story.

In 2012, I had a show in Odessa, I think Usyk was fighting there. I went to the city center, walked into a small leather coat shop. It was just me and two girls who worked there. I was trying on a coat in front of a mirror, when suddenly the door opens, and in come Lomachenko, Usyk, Berinchyk, Gvozdyk, and a few other guys - the Olympic dream team. I said, 'Girls, do you know who these are? These are Olympic medalists and champions.' The guys had just returned from the Olympics, very proud. 'If they don't buy anything in our store, we don't care.' So it looked a bit funny.

And that was the moment I first approached Berinchyk. I offered him to go pro, talked to his coach – at that time, his coach was Usyk's current trainer. But Denys didn't agree because he couldn't determine for himself how much he was worth. I signed a contract with Berinchyk in 2016 when Usyk had already become a world champion.

He effectively lost 3-4 years trying to decide if he wanted to go to his second Olympics, stay in amateurs, or go pro. While he was thinking, he lost those 4 years; otherwise, he would have become a world champion earlier - that's my personal opinion," Krassyuk said.

Oleksandr Usyk defeated Britain's Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) by a split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since November 13, 1999, when Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in a rematch.

Denys Berinchyk won a decision over Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) to become the WBO lightweight champion. This fight was Berinchyk's first title bout in his professional career.