Elite Ukrainian boxers to join army during Russian invasion

Four elite Ukrainian boxers have agreed to participate to help protect their nation of Ukraine against the Russian invasion on Monday according to Mike Coppinger of ESPN. They are Oleksandr Usyk of Simferopol, Ukraine, Vitali Klitschko of Belovodskoye, Kyrgyzstan, Wladimir Klitschko of Semey, Kazakhstan, and Vasiliy Lomachenko of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine.

On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale attack on the Ukraine. To date over 2000 Ukrainians have been killed. The invasion has already been considered the largest military attack within Europe since World War II.

Usyk, who joined a territorial defense battalion in the Ukraine, currently holds four heavyweight titles. They are the World Boxing Association Super-heavyweight title, the International Boxing Federation Heavyweight title, the World Boxing Association heavyweight title, and the International Boxing Organization Heavyweight title. Usyk’s last win was over Anthony Joshua of Great Britain in the 12th round during a bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. To date, Usyk has a record of 19 wins and zero losses.

Vitali Klitschko, who is the mayor of Kiev, has “announced he will be taking up arms” according to Coppinger, even though he is 50 years of age. In his boxing career, Vitali Klitschko had a record of 45 wins and two losses, was the WBC heavyweight champion from 2004 to 2012, and was the WBO heavyweight champion in 1999.

Wladimir Klitschko, who is 45 years of age, has enlisted in the Ukrainian reserve army. A gold medalist in the super- heavyweight division from the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Wladimir Klitschko, had a record of 65 wins and five losses during his professional career. He had the WBO Heavyweight title from 2000 to 2003, and again from 2008 to 2015, along with the IBF and IBO titles from 2006 to 2015.

Lomachenko won a gold medal in the featherweight division at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and a gold medal in the lightweight division at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He has a professional record of 16 wins and two losses, and has held the WBO featherweight title, the WBO junior lightweight title, the WBA super-lightweight title, and the WBO lightweight title in his career. Lomachenko joined the Ukrainian territorial defense battalion.