Heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk made the headlines for some, initially quite shocking, but later fully explained his reasons yesterday, as the Ukrainian was detained and handcuffed at Krakow airport. Footage surfaced of Usyk being led away by men in uniform, his hands cuffed and behind his back. But all was soon clarified.
Usyk had already boarded a Ryanair flight, while one of his team members was not allowed on the plane. Usyk then “forced his way off” the plane and attempted to defend his friend. Reportedly, the Usyk team member had driven Usyk to Krakow from Kyiv, and the long, 14-hour journey had all but exhausted the man. Then, looking in bad shape as he tried to board the plane, Usyk’s friend and team-member was not allowed onto the flight.
Usyk later thanked the authorities as well as Ukrainian politicians for supporting him and helping things get sorted out. It was, in the end, a “misunderstanding.”
Mykhailo Krassyuk of Team-Usyk took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain what happened:
“OK, Google, that was all about our team member who brought Usyk from Kyiv by car (and it was not [trainer, Sergey] Lapin, as reported by some media). He was very tired after 14 h driving and slept standing up, literally. Ryanair employees didn’t let him on the plane. Usyk, who was already on board, returned to the gate and tried to defend our friend, like [he] always does. Meanwhile the police appeared, maybe the champ looked so dangerous that [he] should have been handcuffed, I don’t know. Anyway, everything was sorted out briefly. Thanks for your support.”
So it seems Usyk once again showed how he very much has your back if you are a buddy of his. Credit to the world heavyweight champion for standing up for a friend of his who was, quite literally, falling asleep when standing.
The more we read about Usyk and his out of the ring behaviour – giving to charity, so passionate about his country and his people, helping young kids learn sport and fitness, and more – the easier it is to both like and admire him.
Usyk as we know is a little over three months away from his big rematch with former heavyweight champ Tyson Fury.
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