Olympic champion Oleksandr Usyk defeats Andrey Knyazev via TKO 8

YouTube video
Oleksandr Usyk (7-0, KO 7) of the Ukraine outworked his Russian opponent Andrey Knyazev (11-2) in the main event of a K2 promotions show in the Sports Palace in Kiev, Ukraine under the watchful eye of the city mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Usyk won the WBO Inter-Continental cruiser weight title and his 3rd place in the WBO rankings suggests a showdown with cruiser weight king Marco Huck (Muamer Hukić) in the near future. Tony Bellew and Krzytof Glowacki occupy the top two spots but getting past them should be a formality for Usyk.

Oleksandr Usyk, an Olympic gold medalist, will make a pro debut on Nov.9

IMG_9561A recent press release about the pro debut of Oleksandr Usyk (not Alexander) on Nov. 9 finally alerted some journalists that the cruiserweight Olympic champion had actually turned pro. He did that right after Vasyl Lomachenko singed with Top Rank. The two are team mates and close friends and they traveled to the US together to seek a deal with a premiere promotional company. Both are Olympic champions from the Ukraine and very competent boxers whose styles would need only minor tactical adjustments for them to cross over to the paid ranks. Conditioning should not be a problem for people who run the marathon distance as a part of their road work.

Lomachenko was in high demand and he put up an auction of sorts demanding a championship fight in his debut along with the financial terms. Apparently Top Rank beat the rest to the chase and attracted the diamond in the rough to their stable. A debut for a title was a pipe dream but the rest of the requirements may have been met.