At four o’clock on Sunday morning, Oleksandr Usyk walked away from the ambulance, having had his jaw scanned and cleared of a possible fracture, after he had beaten Tyson Fury in a masterful display of audacity and courage to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. The cut and swollen skin above his right eye had been stitched shut and, as he strolled into a crammed room in the basement of the Kingdom Arena, he raised his left arm in greeting.
Applause broke out for this would be no ordinary press conference. Usyk wore a stone‑coloured T‑shirt, emblazoned with a boxing glove on the front. He carried a Ukrainian flag and Eeyore, his eldest daughter’s favourite cuddly toy, under his right arm.
