You're reading: Ukraine’s Usyk beats Russia’s Knyazev in emotional eight round bout

Oleksander Usyk, the undefeated Ukrainian boxer notorious for colorful performances with a high dose of patriotism, beat Russia’s Andrei Knyazev in an eighth round technical knock out in front of an emotional crowd at Kyiv’s Palace of Sports.


Known for performing Kozak Hopak dances after bouts and brandishing a trademark scalplock haircut, Usyk dominated the duel, leaving Knyazev’s face heavily bruised and his nose bleeding.

During the match, thousands of spectators stood to sing the Ukrainian national anthem. As both fighters scrapped in the ring the crowd chanted patriotic slogans and offensive jeers directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Usyk was born in Crimea, which Russia occupied last year before launching a proxy hybrid war in eastern Donbas region, where it has engineered a separatist rebellion and supported it with heavy weaponry and regular troops.

With the victory, the 2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist preserves his unbeaten status since turning professional in 2013 and comes closer to challenging world cruiserweight WBO champion Marco Huck.