Usyk aiming to have last laugh on Bellew
TONY BELLEW is well known for his pre-bout barbs but Oleksandr Usyk knows he can handle being abused by Scousers.
That is because the undisputed king of the cruiserweight division already has experience of dealing with a Merseyside motormouth. In 2008, the Ukrainian was at Liverpool airport with a European championship gold medal in his bag when he got an earful from a drunk woman. The unconventional southpaw said: “A young lady was down on the ground, drunk.
“It was four o’clock in the morning and we were leaving the hotel in the airport.
“We weren’t out until 4am, after the final we had a party but we came back to the hotel.
“I asked her to get up because it was a bit cold and I asked her if she was alright. But she said ‘f*** you!’ So actually, I have nice memories.”
Usyk, 31, enjoyed his stay in Liverpool and visited the Beatles museum before partying at a drum and bass club to celebrate winning gold.
He added: “I am not exactly a Beatles fan but when I have a chance to visit a place like the Beatles museum I definitely take it. It’s historic.”
It’s unlikely that Bellew will try to wind up Usyk given the respect between the two fighters.
Usyk has created boxing history in the last decade. He won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games then turned professional.
But not before he beat England’s Joe Joyce at York Hall in Bethnal Green in 2013.
He didn’t take long to shoot up the paid ranks and in his 15th fight he became sport’s latest undisputed champion.
After his win over Murat Gassiev in July, Bellew’s name was the one uttered by Usyk despite the fact he had relinquished one of the titles and moved up to heavyweight to beat David Haye twice.
‘Bomber’ took the challenge and he is coming back down in weight against one of the finest boxers on the planet at the Manchester Arena on Saturday.
Usyk added: “I wasn’t surprised at all Tony took the fight because I knew he would say yes.”