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‘Jesus Christ is my life’ and the Blessed Virgin Mary is ‘my mother,’ said Ukrainian champion boxer Oleksander Usyk.
(LifeSiteNews) — Boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion of the world is a devout Christian who witnesses to God through his fights.
Ukraine’s Oleksander Usyk, 38, defeated Britain’s Daniel Dubois, 27, in the fifth round of the heavyweight championship in London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday, July 19.
Known for making Christian symbols prominent in his matches, this time Usyk wore boxing shorts with “Orthodoxy” emblazoned around the waistband. After his victory, the champion donned both a heavy cross and a black T-shirt reading, in Greek, “Orthodoxy or Death.”
“I want to say, ‘Thank you, Jesus Christ,’” he told an interviewer immediately after the match. “I want to say, ‘Thank you, [Virgin] Maria’.”
Usyk’s victory confirmed his status as a sporting legend, for Dubois had been defending the only boxing federation championship – the IBF belt – that the Ukrainian had not already won. But Usyk’s performance in the ring – heralded as “genius” by connoisseurs of boxing – served also as an expression of his Christian faith.
Usyk, who has now won one cruiserweight and two heavyweight titles, is a married church-going man with four children. In later post-fight interview, he emphasized his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“I believe [in] God, in Jesus Christ, but the [Virgin Mary] is my mother, [heavenly] mother,” Usyk said.
The boxer, who struggled to find the correct words in English, also stated that Jesus Christ is “[his] life.”
“What we do now, it’s only temporary. […] I don’t know how many years I will live. But now I work, and my future is in the sky [heaven].”