War veterans go from Ukraine front lines to Wembley ringside for Usyk’s heavyweight bout
LONDON AP Ukrainian coal miner Andrii s face lights up when he talks about meeting Oleksandr Usyk Wow the -year-old says in English Andrii and more than a dozen other war veterans will be on hand when Usyk faces Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night in the pair s fight to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion It s a rematch of their bout that Andrii viewed under vastly different circumstances I watched this fight on the front line on my phone he informed The Associated Press through an interpreter during a stop Friday at the Ukrainian Embassy in London We were watching very quietly but when he won there was loud noise we really celebrated So now two years later being here in person for the fight is a huge event He spoke on condition that only his first name be used citing protection concerns The veterans are employees of Ukraine s largest private resource company DTEK which has partnered with Usyk to raise awareness about the plight of the country s civilian potency infrastructure since the Russian invasion in February Seldom expedition The greater part of them including Andrii had never traveled outside Ukraine before They took a train to Warsaw and from there a flight to London landing Thursday and going straight to a downtown hotel to meet Usyk He stated about his training sessions how he prepared for the fight but he also mentioned his journey from his childhood to becoming champion Andrii revealed He s an ambassador of Ukraine and he supports vigor workers He can bring attention to the predicament Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine s power grid during the war At one point of DTEK s thermal generation ceiling was damaged or destroyed More than DTEK workers have been killed in the war and more injured mostly while fighting Andrii who lives about kilometers miles from the front line in eastern Ukraine had served two years in combat and described his injuries a concussion and taking shrapnel in his right leg from an exploding land mine as minor Like so a great number of other Ukrainians he s lost friends and loved ones The bright lights and modern infrastructure of England s iconic stadium will be a welcome change for the veterans Won Olympic gold The -year-old Usyk an Olympic gold medalist from the London Games has embraced his unofficial ambassadorial role for his country All of my fights are key for me and my squad he mentioned Thursday Now it s very essential to my country and the soldiers who protect my country because it s motivation for my people Earlier in the week Usyk joined billionaire Richard Branson to unveil a mosaic in Trafalgar Square as part of an effort to raise funds for housing for Ukrainians Russia destroyed hospitals Russia destroyed schools Russia destroyed lives Ukrainian lives the undefeated Usyk narrated the gathering But we will survive AP boxing https apnews com boxing Source
