Wroclaw currently hosts somewhere close to 250,000 Ukrainian citizens due to the ongoing war with Russia. The city has a population of 673,000 people, meaning Ukrainians make up one third of the population.
Oleksandr Usyk chose the city personally, envisaging the-next-best-thing in regards to a hero’s homecoming, and taking a role in promoting his WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois at the 45,000 seater Stadion Wroclaw.
“Usyk is the real inspiration for Ukraine, for the guys on the frontline.” Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk said in an exclusive interview for ProBox TV. “He supports these people, he supports the military. He’s a national hero. When he speaks, these words inspire the Ukraine people and the soldiers to fight the enemy and to have courage. This is extremely important! Usyk is not fighting for himself anymore.”
During the conversation I described Usyk as an ‘arrowhead in many ways’ for his country as war continues less than 60 miles away.
“I would agree with this.” Krassyuk answered. “We had the press conference on the same day as the Ukrainian independence day, a lot of this was his idea. What can I say, it is the best present he can give to his country. We are fighting here in Wroclaw, a city where every third citizen is Ukrainian. This fight is massive for Ukraine, it means a lot. It will be broadcast worldwide. Usyk will definitely use this as a platform to direct the attention of the whole world to the situation in Ukraine.
“Poland is a country that helped us so much. I mean for the first days of the war millions of Ukrainians had to escape from war. Many went through Poland, the Polish people, I mean just the normal people, they accepted the Ukrainians into their homes. They didn’t charge them, they just hosted for days, weeks or months just because they wanted to help. This is something that can only come from the heart. This fight should have happened in Kiev, but we obviously can’t do that when the war is there. That is the only reason we have not gone back to Ukraine with Usyk. I do think Ukraine will become the center of Europe for quite some time. When you visit Kiev, you will see how beautiful the city is, how good the people are, and how positive the energy is inside such a great city. You will definitely love it when you all come to Kiev.”
