As brave soldiers fought on the front lines, radios roared with unchanging on the battlefield. These brave units, defending Ukraine against the invading Russian forces, on the night of May 18 this year. they were waiting for further instructions or warnings about incoming missiles.

They are hailed as national heroes who risk their lives to protect their borders from Vladimir Putin’s troops. Oleksandr Usyk understands this perfectly, he has friends on the front line and has witnessed the horrors himself.

But life also goes on beyond the grim reality of war, and they were also eager to hear about their hero Usyk’s other fight against Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. “Let me tell you one story,” Usyk, 37, said when asked if he had spoken to the fighters since the victory over Furia.

“This is the front line where the fighting takes place. And the people on the second line have special communications connecting them to the front lines on the battlefield. They have nicknames like: “Rocket, Rocket, can you hear me?” intonation, when they first picked up the phone, they said, “Yes, yes, what’s going on?” What do we have to do? [thinking it was an emergency]but then they got the news that Usyk was the undisputed champion and they started cheering: “Oh yes! All right!'”

In what must have been an incredibly moving time for those who longed for a glimmer of hope in the trenches, the brutal truth remains that Usyk was able to return to his loved ones after his victories, but he cannot take them back to his Ukrainian home. His partner Yekaterina and their children Mykhailo, Kyrylo and Yelizaveta had to leave Ukraine in featherlight of the current crisis, and Usyk kept their whereabouts a secret for security reasons.

Ringside, Ekaterina witnessed Usyk’s best Fury, recording his first defeat and allowing Usyk to win the undisputed heavyweight title – a moment they celebrated away from the public eye with their children, who were nervously watching TV in their short-lived apartment. “They were very scared and nervous, my two boys and my daughter,” Usyk commented.

However, when they saw their father again, the children’s spirits improved. “They said I was a real legend now,” recalls the humble former cruiserweight champion, although he modestly disagrees. “I said, ‘Mm, no.’ They said ‘yes, yes’.

The humility with which Usyk views his achievements was evident when boxing icon Lennox Lewis, the last before Usyk to become undisputed heavyweight champion in 1999, visited Usyk’s training camp in Spain ahead of his long-awaited rematch with Fury in Riyad. Despite winning the heavyweight crown after defeating Fury in early May, the reigning champion was honored and clearly impressed in the presence of his esteemed predecessor.

“It was great,” Usyk said. “I once watched him fight on TV. Now Lennox Lewis is in my camp watching my sparring. I said, ‘Wow, hey, Lennox. Do you miss boxing, do you miss preparations?». – Yes of course.

“Listen, it was great. I made a poster. I said, “Hey, Master, please sign for both of my sons.” My wife’s father said, ‘Oh my God, Lennox Lewis, please sign and take a picture.’

Perhaps Lewis should have asked Usyk for his autograph. “Just my shirt,” he joked with a smile. It is an extreme display of humility on Usyk’s part that he does not consider himself a legend despite being an Olympic gold medalist, world and European amateur champion, and the undisputed king of both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, undefeated in 22 professional fights. And he clearly serves as an inspiration to those in his homeland who are trying to stand up to Russia. “Legend,” he said. “It’s very high class. I don’t like it. I just like being a plain guy. I don’t want others to think of me as an icon. I don’t need it.”

Logan Paul previously slammed Conor McGregor, calling him a “terrible boxer” – and now it looks like the pair may settle their differences in the ring in India.

McGregor has stirred the combat sports world by announcing on social media his tentative agreement to an exhibition fight with the YouTuber-turned-boxer, temporarily putting his UFC career on ice. “Rumors of a fight with [UFC champion Illia] Topurias are false. I am in preliminary agreements with the Ambani family to face Logan Paul at a boxing event in India. I agreed. Then I will strive to return to the octagon,” declared McGregor.

While Paul is yet to respond to McGregor’s latest claims, he has previously issued a challenge to the Irish fighter ahead of his fight with Dillon Danis, McGregor’s former teammate. “Conor McGregor is an average MMA fighter and a terrible boxer,” Paul assured. “I’m going to kick his son of a bitch Dillon and then I’m going to beat the crap out of him.”

Paul also mocked McGregor for not backing Danis with a massive bet. “He scared me, he won’t even bet a million dollars on his player. That’s a petite thing for a guy like Conor, he won’t even bet a million dollars on Dillon. He had nothing to say when I called him out on Twitter. Do you think he will go there himself? I don’t know, it seems unlikely to me.”

After his victory over Danis, Paul provocatively asked McGregor: “Conor McGregor, do you see that? I picked up your son of a bitch, put him on a leash and took him for a walk. Who is the real warrior now?” McGregor has been out of the ring for more than three years since breaking his leg in the first round of his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier. His only victory since 2016 was a quick 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone in 2020.

After defeating Eddie Alvarez in two rounds eight years ago, McGregor suffered defeats to Floyd Mayweather, Khabib Nurmagomedov and twice to Poirier. The comeback against Michael Chandler this summer was canceled on two weeks’ notice due to a broken toe.

Last month, McGregor was found guilty of assaulting Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018 and ordered to pay his victim more than £200,000. Paul, the older brother of boxer Jake, made his debut against KSI in 2018, drawing with his social media rival in Manchester before losing to him in Los Angeles a year later.

He then fought Mayweather in a no-scoring exhibition fight before winning over Danis last year. Since then, Paul has focused on his WWE career, but announced his retirement on the latest episode of his podcast. “I’m retired,” he announced. “Come on, I’m retired. I’m dad, bro.”

Peter McGrail’s place on the card of Tyson Fury’s highly anticipated rematch with Oleksandr Usyk was saved after a last-minute replacement opponent was secured.

McGrail was initially scheduled to fight Dennis McCann in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but the fight was canceled when McCann failed a drug test. After a slow search, undefeated Rhys Edwards agreed to step in, bringing his impressive 16-0 record to the ring. Edwards was preparing to fight Leon Woodstock in Sheffield next month, but will now face McGrail instead.

In a social media post, Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh confirmed the novel fight, stating: “It is now confirmed that Peter McGrail will remain on the list for Saturday’s fight against undefeated British fighter Rhys Edwards in the #Usyk2Fury rematch.”

The substance that led to McCann failing the test has not been disclosed, but his promoter Queensberry issued a statement saying: “The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) today informed all interested parties that Dennis McCann returned an unfavorable result in the anti-doping test.” conducted ahead of Mr. McCann’s upcoming fight next Saturday will not take place as the relevant parties investigate the matter further.

Meanwhile, Fury has announced that he will limit his spectacular antics in the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, but he does not see the need to make any major changes to his strategy. The heavyweight rivals will clash again next Saturday in Riyad, with Fury looking to make up for the split decision loss in May that made Usyk the division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

Despite dominating the middle rounds, some say Fury’s repeated displays cost him when he was leading. The “Gypsy King” maintains that his bravado was due to the fight being too effortless, but now he is ready to take the advice of promoter Frank Warren and “get to the point.”

“I don’t think my showing cost me the fight, but this time I have to be more focused and not do so much,” Fury said. “One commentator picked up on this and said, ‘Has anyone ever seen Tyson Fury clown around like that, even against a lower-ranked opponent?’ It was so effortless for me to play there and you can get complacent about it.

“I’m just going to apply my box like I did last time. I’m not going to do anything drastic like completely change my game plan because that’s not necessary. If it was five, six or seven rounds the other way and it was a landslide, so it’s OK. Then I would have to change something drastic.