In a training camp somewhere in Ukraine, Oleksandr Usyk is preparing to face Verhoeven with the same intensity he reserves for the sport's greatest champions—even though his opponent has boxed professionally just once since 2014. The Ukrainian boxer, now 39 and undefeated across 24 professional fights, treats every bout as a serious contest, not a spectacle. "The opponent might be different but my preparations are not different," Usyk explained. "I train like I'm fighting Tyson Fury or Daniel Dubois, because for me it's a serious fight. It's not fake. For me it's not a show, it's a fight."
That unwavering discipline—the very thing that defines his career—was forged in disappointment. Usyk's only loss came 16 years and eight months ago, in 2009, when Russian amateur Egor Mekhontsev defeated him at the AIBA World Championships. That single setback proved transformative. Rather than spiral, the young boxer returned to his room and made a decision: "You lost but maybe you couldn't do more to win. You must do work, homework and get out the mistakes." He changed his training camp, overhauled his discipline, and transformed his life.
What followed was a professional career of historic proportions. After winning Olympic gold in 2012, Usyk ascended to pound-for-pound greatness, becoming an undisputed champion at cruiserweight and twice at heavyweight—a rare feat in modern boxing. He has dismantled the sport's elite, beating Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Daniel Dubois on two occasions each. His professional record now stands at 24 wins with 15 victories inside the distance. He holds the WBA (Super), WBO, and WBC belts.
But the 2009 loss taught him something deeper than technique. Shortly after that amateur defeat, Usyk married his wife Yekatarina. Nine months later, their first daughter Liza was born. Holding that "mini person," as he calls her, crystallized a new understanding of his purpose. "I looked at this mini person and thought 'OK, I need to change my life, because I'm now not just an athlete and boxer, now I'm husband and father,'" Usyk reflected. "Liza, my daughter, really changed my life."
That transformation—from the grieving amateur in 2009 to the family man and undefeated professional champion—is written into his preparation ritual. Facing Verhoeven, whose 11-year reign as Glory's heavyweight kickboxing champion and 13 successful title defences speak to legitimate pedigree, Usyk maintains his philosophy: serious work, relentless sparring, rigorous conditioning. No shortcuts. No assumptions based on opponent résumé.
For Usyk, the gym is where discipline meets gratitude—a place where a single loss 16 years ago continues to echo, not as regret but as the catalyst for everything that followed. Every training session, every sparring round, every fight becomes an act of honoring both the athlete he became and the father and husband who made that transformation possible. That's the mentality he brings to every opponent, regardless of their record.