2024-09-18 08:44:16
Ukrainian boxing world champion Oleksandr Usyk was unexpectedly taken away in handcuffs at Krakow airport. President Zelenskyy apparently had to intervene.
A turbulent day for Oleksandr Usyk: The 37-year-old Ukrainian boxing world champion unexpectedly got into trouble at the airport in Krakow, Poland, on Tuesday. A video circulating on social media shows Usyk being led away in handcuffs by several officers. His wife Yekaterina posted the video on Instagram and stressed in her post that everything was fine and Usyk was not a criminal.
According to a report by ESPN, Usyk, his wife and his trainer Sergey Lapin wanted to fly to Valencia, Spain, to prepare the boxer for his upcoming rematch against Tyson Fury in December. However, they were denied the flight. An airline employee deemed the two unfit to fly and denied them boarding.
The boxing champion later explained that they were simply exhausted after a nearly 14-hour day of travel from Kiev and were ready to fly. But the language barrier and his anger led to misunderstandings and he was arrested. Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk also described the incident as a “misunderstanding”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also got involved. In a post on the X platform, he said he had personally spoken to the top athlete on the phone. “I was disappointed by this behavior towards our citizen and champion,” wrote Zelensky. He had instructed his Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko to clarify the incident immediately.
Zelensky posted a photo showing Usyk with the Ukrainian Consul General in Krakow. “Our champion has been released and no one is holding him anymore,” Zelensky confirmed.
The boxer himself thanked all concerned people and the Ukrainian diplomats for their quick support on social media. He also wrote that he respected the Polish police for acting without prejudice.
Usyk won the WBC belt against Tyson Fury in May 2023, after previously winning the belts of the four world associations IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO. This makes him the first heavyweight boxer ever to achieve this. He is scheduled to fight Fury in a rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 21. But Usyk is first expected in London, where he plans to attend the fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium this weekend.