Many Ukrainians were up early Sunday not to protect themselves from incoming Russian missiles, but to celebrate Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. It was for a reason.
Usyk’s victory over British boxer Tyson Fury was rare good news for a country struggling to contain Russian advances, particularly in the northeast, where Russia has opened new fronts.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the victory as a symbol of Ukraine’s resilience.
“The Ukrainians attacked onslaught!” Zelenskiy wrote in a Telegram post around 3 a.m. that included a photo of Usyk throwing a punch at Fury. “And in the end all our enemies will be defeated.”
Ukrainian forces are currently engaged in heavy fighting across the front to halt a fierce Russian advance, and there are fears that some key positions may soon fall. Russian forces recently advanced further into the southern village of Lobotin, one of the rare successes of Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive last summer.
Faced with such a bleak outlook, many Ukrainians watched the match hoping to feel uplifted by victory.
“This victory is very good for boosting our morale,” Valentina Polishchuk, 54, said in the capital Kiev on Sunday. She said, “The situation in our country is not good, but this is at least good.”
“Mr. Usyk’s victory definitely affected the morale of the entire Ukrainian people. We desperately need such a victory now,” said Major Ilya Yevrash, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force.
Many Ukrainian public figures took part in the celebrations, including former President Petro O. Poroshenko and Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, himself a former heavyweight world champion, who said the victory was a sign of Ukraine’s ability to defeat strong opponents. He praised it as proof of something.
On Sunday, another Ukrainian boxer, Denis Belinchyk, won the lightweight world title, adding to the festive mood.
“We must do everything possible to make the next victory a great victory,” Poroshenko said on Facebook.
With Sunday’s victory, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly a quarter of a century. He won a grueling 12-round battle against Mr. Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The parallels with Ukraine’s war of attrition against Russia were not lost on Ukrainians. “Here, every blow can change the course of the battle,” said Major Evlash.
On Sunday, several Ukrainians said they hoped Usyk’s victory would show the world that Ukraine was still capable of winning.
“I am very proud that Oleksandr received this award. It is very important,” said Fedil Ilarionov from Kiev. He is standing on St. Michael’s Square in the center of the capital, where Ukrainian authorities display captured Russian armored vehicles destroyed on the battlefield.
Pavlo Velichko, a Ukrainian lieutenant guarding the border in northeastern Ukraine, took a more pragmatic tone.
“This is great, positive news for Ukraine,” he said in a telephone interview. “But our most important victories occur every day on the battlefield. That is where the attention of the Ukrainian state and the world should be focused.”