The WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, on the eve of the fight with Briton Daniel Dubois, received a gift from the fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - the icon of the Mother of God. The present was presented to Usyk at an official press conference two days before the championship fight.. The peculiarity of this icon is that it is written on a board from a box for shells, with which the Ukrainian military defended Bakhmut from Russian invaders.. " His contribution was recognized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A special thing is the icon of the Mother of God, painted by the outstanding master Alexander Klimenko, whose masterpieces are kept by the Pope, the Swedish King Gustav and the President of Poland Duda. The icon is made on a wooden board from a box for shells that our soldiers used to defend Bakhmut,” said Ukrainian promoter Alexander Krasyuk..

The woman who handed over the icon also told Alexander the wishes from the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. " For obvious reasons, we know why they cannot be here now and why they delegated this mission to me.. Alexander, this was conveyed to you by the guys with whom you were on the front lines just a few months ago, in such difficult times for them, with whom you are directly familiar. This is the border checkpoint of Vovkulaki. All the military join them, only victories, you charge them with your energy. They say: "

It should be noted that at the press conference, Usyk answered in English and expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian military defending their homeland from Russian invaders.. " We do a lot of meaningful work. We are playing football. We are dancing,"

Earlier it was reported that Usyk “won” a duel of views from Dubois before the championship fight.

Usyk vs Dubois fight will take place on August 26 in Wroclaw, Poland. All championship belts owned by the Ukrainian will be at stake. The 36-year-old Usyk has 20 wins (13 by knockout) in 20 fights. He held four of them in the heavyweight division.. Before that, Alexander became the absolute world champion in the cruiserweight (weight category up to 90.7 kg), having won all four of the most prestigious belts there.. The 25-year-old Dubois has 19 wins (18 by knockout) and the only loss in November 2020 from his compatriot Joe Joyce.