Kyiv, March 21, 2026. A date I will never forget. Amid the echoes of sirens and hollowed-out streets, two heavyweight champions and rivals stand side by side in a compelling image of unity.
Oleksandr Usyk, the pride of Ukraine and former undisputed heavyweight champion, and Anthony Joshua, Britain’s two-time world champion, have come together not for a fight, but for something perhaps even more powerful: a shared purpose, a journey into the heart of a nation, and a bond forged through respect, grief and ambition.
We are here to see Usyk. No one knew that Joshua would be coming too. Every detail of the Brit’s journey has been carefully planned. He flew into Poland, then drove eight hours to Lviv, the largest city in western Ukraine. My journey began with a flight to Krakow, before a two-hour bus ride to Przemysl Glowny, and a night train to Kyiv.
The cabin was tiny with four people, bunk beds on either side and bags spilling across half the space. I curled up on the top right bunk, our videographer on the bunk across from me, two strangers below.
Stepping off in Kyiv after 24 hours in transit what we find is striking. Buildings blown to pieces, craters scarring the streets and sandbags leaning against shattered windows. The centre of Kyiv, a city of three million people, is empty. My phone buzzes with missile alerts – three on the night of Usyk’s event – instructing us to take shelter, while locals moved through it as if nothing is happening.
Over the weekend, Usyk leads Joshua – who he beat in 2021 in north London and a 2022 rematch in Jeddah – through Kyiv, visiting a memorial for fallen Ukrainian soldiers, then one for British troops who had died helping Ukraine. They end at Usyk’s local church, meeting his priest and sharing a private moment of prayer, before heading to the Usyk17 Promotions Rising Stars event venue. This is what happens.
Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua sat down with Daily Mail Sport in a powerful and rare meeting of two heavyweight rivals
The two titans of boxing met in Kyiv, where Usyk showed Britain’s Joshua the battered streets of his homeland
‘I wanted to show Anthony my national food, my culture, Ukrainian music, everything,’ Usyk, 39, tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘I want him to feel my energy and understand the places that are important to me. Maidan (the main city square), for example, is now like a memorial. It’s not only about Ukrainians – it’s about all the people who help and protect Ukraine: people from the UK, Europe, the USA, Australia… the whole world.
‘When we talk, I tell Anthony about the young guys, people born in the 2000s, who are going through all of this. You hear about the night bombing, the events happening here, and you realise how serious it is. He says, “Oh my God, it’s a big problem”. And I say, “Yeah, brother, it’s a big problem”.
‘I really appreciate that he’s here. To me, he’s like a big brother. He’s not my rival, not my opponent, he’s my partner, my brother. And now he likes Ukrainian food too, especially borscht.’
The word ‘brother’ hangs over everything that follows. Because to understand what is happening between Usyk and Joshua, you have to understand Joshua’s recent journey.
In December 2025, Joshua survived a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his closest friends and team members: his strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami, and his personal trainer, Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele. He was physically intact, but the emotional damage was harder to quantify. Even in Kyiv, surrounded by people, it lingers. You can see it in the quieter moments, the pauses between conversations.
And yet he has shown up, for everyone. Everywhere he goes, fans stop him – photos, handshakes, conversations. He listens. He smiles. He engages. There is warmth there, constant and genuine, even if beneath it, grief quietly hums.
Joshua’s progress has been steady but measured, as Usyk notes. ‘I think he’s getting better,’ says the Ukrainian. ‘From what I see, Anthony is training well, but the doctor says, “please, take it slowly, not too fast yet. Take your time”. So physically he’s good but he needs more time to fully heal.
‘Mentally, I think he’s good too, because we talk every day. We train twice a day, morning and evening, and we’re always talking constantly. I tell him, he can talk to me when he needs to. Listen, I know Anthony, he’s a champion. Yes, right now he doesn’t have the belts, but for me that doesn’t matter.
The pair met in the ring twice – at Tottenham’s stadium in 2021 and in Saudi Arabia a year later – with Usyk winning both
The progress of Joshua, pictured with Usyk and Daily Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly, has been steady but measured, as Usyk notes. ‘I think he’s getting better,’ says the Ukrainian
‘Listen, I know Anthony, he’s a champion. Yes, right now he doesn’t have the belts, but for me that doesn’t matter’
‘A champion is not always the one who has the belts. A champion is a man who lives right, who works, who looks to the future and says, “yes, I can. I will work and never give up”. It’s about how you live every day, every moment, every second. Anthony is living like that at the moment. That mindset is what keeps him going.’
Though the circumstances are different, Usyk can relate and feels he can help Joshua navigate this period. Usyk’s own journey has been marked by loss: his close friend and former amateur team-mate, Oleksiy Dzhunkivskyi, was shot dead by Russian soldiers just a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion during the occupation of Irpin, a suburb of Kyiv. Usyk chose to keep fighting, just as AJ will fight in honour of his own friends.
‘I see that loss as a test that shaped my strength,’ Usyk says. ‘I hope Anthony can emerge from his own tragedy the same way. I know that God gave me an upset, but you have to see it more like a test. God gave me a test, and he gave a test to AJ too.
‘There is a lot that he has to deal with, and it is painful, but God has a plan. In 2021 and 2022, it was the fight with Usyk. In 2024 and 2025, Anthony is with Usyk, training together. And then in 2026 and 2027, Anthony becomes the undisputed champion.’
Even during war, Usyk found voices urging him to continue boxing. To provide moments of joy and pride during a conflict now into its fifth year, which has robbed this country of more than 100,000 lives.
‘I have a lot of respect for the people of Ukraine,’ he says. ‘When the war started I said I will stop boxing. I will go and protect my country. For a month I went and defended my country.
‘But then I met a man from Crimea – my hometown (Usyk was born in Simferopol on the peninsula that Russia annexed 12 years ago). He said, “hey, Alex, please go. I don’t know where you will train, but please continue training. Please sign the contract for the fight with Anthony. For me, for my friends and for our Ukrainian soldiers, it’s very important. You are educated, you speak on TV, you know what words to say. You bring awareness. We will never give up. We will fight because it’s our country”.
‘I say, “brother, I’m a man, my father is a man – I must go to the army”. But he tells me, “you are a world champion. Please go back to your gym”. I go back home, think about it, and then call my manager: “please start the training camp”, because I know it is very important for my country and for my people.”
Even during war, Usyk was urged to continue boxing. To provide moments of joy and pride in a conflict now into its fifth year, which has robbed Ukraine of more than 100,000 lives
‘My country is at war right now. But I must keep working. I must continue, help my people, give them good emotions’
He pauses here, his eyes drifting as he recalls the underground boxing gym where he first learned to fight as a child. The place that once echoed with the slap of gloves on heavy bags is now a bomb shelter.
‘I’m not shocked anymore,’ he says quietly. ‘Nothing shocks me, because I live here and I see rockets, bombs, destroyed hospitals, destroyed houses, the killing of Ukrainian people. My shock is the fact Ukrainians now say it’s normal, because this is what life has been like.’
In Lviv, the human side of the war revealed itself in a quieter, personal way. The military UAV operators of the special Vovkulaki unit, who defend Ukraine every day in the Kharkiv direction, presented Joshua with gifts: a longsliv, a knife emblazoned with the unit’s symbols, and T-shirts – a gesture of respect, strength, and gratitude. Joshua accepted before joking he would need a second suitcase for the journey home.
Hosting the Rising Stars event in Kyiv is a statement, Usyk says, that builds on what he was looking to achieve by being in the ring.
‘This message is not only for my Ukrainian people – it’s a message for the whole world,’ he says. ‘We have a problem. My country is at war right now. But I must keep working. I must continue, help my people, give them good emotions, and give opportunities to the people who work with my company. For me, money is not the priority. It’s about legacy – for the people, for my sport.’
Joshua has joined Usyk’s Ready to Fight team in Spain, training alongside him, learning from his coaches, and absorbing his methodology.
‘We haven’t watched our fights back together yet, but we definitely will,’ says Usyk, the respect he holds for them clear in every word. ‘It will be a good learning experience. I know the mistakes I made in the fight. I know the mistakes Anthony made in the fight. I can tell him what he needs to work on and I can tell him what mistakes he needs to delete.’
And he is unequivocal about Joshua’s potential: ‘I don’t think Anthony will become undisputed, I know Anthony will become undisputed. It is possible for him to hold all of the belts with our help. He will become undisputed champion in 2027. And he won’t just be some undisputed champion – he will be the undisputed heavyweight champion.
‘I don’t think Anthony will become undisputed, I know Anthony will become undisputed’
‘We haven’t watched our fights back together yet, but we definitely will,’ says Usyk. ‘It will be a good learning experience’
‘It’s possible, and we are going to make it happen. There will always be doubters. I remember when Eddie Hearn said: “Usyk, you’re too small, it’s not possible, blah, blah, blah”. I said, “We’ll see”. I go away and I pray, but I also work hard. I work very hard to make it happen with my amazing team, and Anthony will do the same.’
But Usyk himself has no intention of relinquishing his hold on the heavyweight division until he retires – likely in late 2027 after completing his final three fights, which he has said will be against Rico Verhoeven, the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois, and Tyson Fury for a third time.
It’s here that the conversation inevitably turns to Agit Kabayel. As the WBC mandatory challenger, undefeated German 33-year-old Kabayel is supposed to be Usyk’s next opponent, and fans and pundits alike had been clamouring for the fight. For the first time, Usyk acknowledges the chatter, but emphasises that his path isn’t dictated by outside expectations.
‘Maybe I will fight Kabayel – maybe I don’t face Tyson Fury for a third time and I fight Kabayel instead,’ he says. ‘I only say my plan but that is not set in stone. God has his plan for me. I understand the Agit fans are saying you must fight him, you must fight him. But I don’t have to fight him.
‘I must live my life, I must look after my team, my children. As for fighting, I just work hard and my opponents work hard. Look, maybe it’s possible I fight Agit. All I can say is he’s a great fighter and he’s very smart.’
Usyk is also thinking about life after boxing, envisioning how he can grow Usyk17 Promotions into a platform that nurtures young fighters, builds careers responsibly, and leaves a lasting legacy beyond the ring.
‘A lot of promoters are not sportsmen, they are business people,’ he says. ‘Many promoters focus only on business, not on the sport or what happens after a fighter’s career. Because of that, many professional fighters don’t just lose money, they end up with more problems. It can become a problem for their health, especially mentally. They may win fights, but it doesn’t always bring what they expected.
‘For me, the most important thing is that athletes must get an education and understand what they are signing – especially their contracts. Many people don’t even read their contracts. I trust my manager and my team, but I still read my contracts.
Usyk himself has no intention of relinquishing his hold on the heavyweight division until he retires – likely in late 2027 after completing his final three fights
‘There will always be doubters. I remember when Eddie Hearn said: “Usyk, you’re too small, it’s not possible, blah, blah, blah”. I said, “We’ll see”‘
‘I want to build a clean sport and a clean company. I believe God gave me this opportunity, this gift. It’s like God says, “Oleks, I give you power. I give you 24 hours every day, use it to work for young people, for others, for the world”. And I say, “OK, Father, I will do it”.’
By the end of the weekend, the sense of camaraderie had crystallised. In a final moment for photographers, Usyk and Joshua stand arm in arm, a Ukrainian flag draped between them, smiles wide but eyes carrying the weight of what they have seen, felt and shared.
They are champions not just of sport, but of resilience, hope and mutual respect.
With thanks to Usyk17 Promotions, founded by Oleksandr Usyk to support the next generation of fighters on their journey to the top.
