Four World Champions at War: Usyk, The Klitschko Brothers and Lomachenko

By Boxing News - 03/04/2022 - Comments

By Robert Brizel, image by Barthes Designs: The World Heavyweight title and the heavyweight division with triple dynamite. WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO World Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk joined the territorial Ukrainian Defense Battalion, to fight in armed conflict with Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali Klitschko, and Vasyl Lomachenko on the front lines.

There are now four present or former world boxing champions who conceivably could lose their lives in the coming days or hours in the Ukrainian War versus the Russian Federation in Ukraine. In a related development, the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and IBO have all withdrawn from staging fight cards in the Russian Federation during the Russian Federation versus Ukraine War conflict.

“It’s time to unite! A worthy son of his State is a member of the Territorial Defense,” wrote Usyk on his social media site. Usyk can be seen dressed in all black and carrying an assault rifle in a photo on his social media. Usyk posted the photo with this story and several videos on his social media page in recent days calling for a stop to the war.

In one social media video, Usyk stated “Friends, we need to unite together and overcome this, because we are faced with exceptional difficulties. I’m very overcome with emotions, and I’m very concerned for my country and for our people. Friends, we must stop this war and we must do it together.”

In another social media video Usyk posted, Usyk said “I’d like to speak to the people of Russia. If we consider ourselves as brothers, Orthodox ones, do not send your children to our country, do not fight with us. Also, I’m addressing this to the President (of the Russian Federation), Vladimir Putin. You can stop this war. Please just sit down and negotiate it with us without claims. Our kids, wives, grannies are hiding in the basements. We are here in our own country. We cannot do it any other way. We are defending. Stop this war. Stop it. No war.”

Casualties were climbing on both sides as Russia’s ferocious assault on its neighbor entered a second week Thursday. Russia acknowledged that nearly 500 of its troops have been killed in the fighting and around 1,600 wounded. Ukraine, which has not released casualty figures for its own armed forces, estimates Russian troop losses at up to 9,000. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has said more than 2,000 civilians have died, though it was impossible to verify the claim. The United Nations human rights office said it had recorded hundreds of deaths, including 17 under the age of 18, and over 500 injured, since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022. Millions of refugees are on the move to cross the Ukrainian border to Romania, Poland, and other countries, a current humanitarian crisis.

Meanwhile, most of Ukraine’s major cities are under siege. Governor Hennadiy Lahuta says the government building in the Black Sea port city of Kherson where he governs was seized by Russian troops. Russia claims its troops had captured the city of 300 thousand people. Troops were also bearing down on Mykolaiev, 40 miles to the northwest and home to almost half a million Ukrainians, The New York Times reported. Citizens in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol were trapped without power, heating or water. Mariupol authorities warned of a “critical” situation for residents amid heavy shelling.

As of March 3, 2022, The Russian Federation says nearly five hundred soldiers have died in the invasion. Ukraine says the number is closer to six thousand. Millions of refugees are on the run to neighboring countries, including over half a million children. Russia’s defense ministry said 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine and another 1,597 were wounded, according to Russia’s RIA news agency. The Russians claimed that the number of war dead for the Ukrainian forces was 2,870, with the number of wounded nearing 4,000. Unicef has set up blue dot safe zones in Romania and Moldova for refugees reaching these areas on the other side of the Ukrainian border.

The United States Department of Homeland Security announced designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. “Individuals eligible for TPS under this designation must have continuously resided in the United States since March 1, 2022,” per press release.

British BBC Radio is reviving its use of shortwave radio to broadcast in Ukraine, and in parts of Russia. The tactic, last used during World War II, uses frequencies that can travel for long distances and be accessible on portable radios.