Oleksandr Usyk Recalls Last Time He Got Drunk: "I Was 6 or 7 Years Old"

Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) shared a childhood memory of the last time he drank to excess.

"It was a very long time ago. I was 6 or 7 years old. It was my mother’s birthday. We lived in Crimea in a small one-room apartment. The table was set—there were glasses, lemon liqueur, and lemonade. My mom, dad, and their friends went outside to smoke and so on. I approached the table and thought, ‘Oh, an alcoholic drink. Maybe it’s not so bad.’ I drank the liqueur and chased it with lemonade. I didn’t understand what was happening and started stumbling around.

My mom said, ‘Oh my God, what happened?’ My dad replied, ‘I know what happened. This guy is drunk.’

I was drunk. I don’t remember it very well, but I thought, ‘This is awful. I’ll never drink like this again because my head isn’t working.’ I felt sleepy. I went to the room, drank water, and said, ‘Please help me, I’m going to die.’ My dad replied, ‘No, you’re going to live.’

It was a very valuable lesson. For me, it was great. I can drink wine, beer, but not too much. I like red wine, Corona with lime—wow. But those who’ve never drunk are very smart people," said Usyk.

Usyk is set to face Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) in a rematch on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In their first bout, the Ukrainian defeated Fury by a split decision, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years.