Oleksandr Usyk has revealed that he missed the birth of his fourth child in order to prepare for his bout with Tyson Fury – which has now been moved.
The highly-anticipated bout had been scheduled to take place in Riyadh on February 17 but was postponed after Fury sustained an injury during camp.
The Gypsy King suffered a severe cut above his right eye on Friday while sparring, forcing the bout to be pushed back until May 18.
Fury – who required 15 stitches after getting caught by Agron Smakici’s elbow in training – finished his conditioning in Saudi before returning to the UK.
Usyk, meanwhile, had been training in Spain for the bout and was so focused on his preparations that he missed the birth of his daughter in Ukraine last Thursday.
Oleksandr Usyk has revealed that he missed the birth of his fourth child in order to prepare for his bout with Tyson Fury
Usyk had been training in Spain for the bout and was so focused on his preparations that he missed the birth of his daughter in Ukraine last Thursday
According to The Mirror, Usyk said: ‘I sacrificed all the dates we used to spend with my family,’ Usyk said. ‘Christmas, New Year, my birthday, my son’s birthday, the birthday of my second son and the birth of my daughter.
‘I was supposed to be somewhere around my wife, not in the room, but walking around waiting for her to give birth to my daughter.
‘I want to go back home, to hug my daughter, to thank my wife, to spend two or three days at home and then come back to camp.’
Usyk’s sparring partner, Emanuel Odiase, also revealed to the outlet: ‘He was in Spain preparing when his wife was going birth in Ukraine. He was so focused on camp that he stayed in Spain and he missed it for that, so it’s extra annoying I can imagine.
‘He’s been in Spain for two or three months, but his daughter was born a couple of days ago’.
Usyk would’ve expected to be home for the birth, given that the original date for the bout with Fury was two days before Christmas last year.
However, after the Brit’s lacklustre performance against Francis Ngannou, the fight was later postponed to mid-February.
That then meant Usyk had to head back to Spain for his training camp, while his wife Yekaterina gave birth to their daughter.
WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTO BELOW
Usyk had been scheduled to fight Fury on February 17th before the Brit pulled out the bout
Fury sustained a nasty laceration above his right eye which has postponed his fight until May
On Monday, Fury officially touched down in the UK after leaving Saudi Arabia following the postponement of his undisputed title clash with Usyk.
The Gypsy King was pictured sitting on a private jet with his nutritionist Greg Marriott and his strength and conditioning coach Kristian Blacklock as they made their way back to England.
Blacklock shared the photo on his Instagram story with the following caption: ‘Team hone but we will be carrying on the good work.
‘Improvements have been made in the last four months that can built upon! Always take the positive from bad situations.’