Ukraine's heavyweight world champ Oleksandr Usyk in Tallinn: The IOC is weak
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recently shown weakness and even evidence of taking orders from elsewhere, top Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk said.
The two-time undisputed heavyweight world champion and London Olympic gold medalist Usyk was in Tallinn on Monday and visited the local boxing community.
The ongoing Milano Cortina Winter Olympics have shown bias on the part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Usyk said, to the extent of even apparently acting on external orders.
This was best illustrated by the exclusion of skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych for wearing a race helmet decorated with portraits of Ukrainian sportspeople who have lost their lives as a result of Russia's war of aggression, now entering its fifth year.
"Our skeleton athlete showed true conscience and character, even though he had to sacrifice his future as an athlete for it. Although I myself don't even believe it will end that way. God will reward him for this, perhaps with two future gold medals, a long career, or something else. God loves people who stand by their principles," Usyk told ERR's Sport portal.
"But regarding the IOC, I want to say they showed that weakness which characterizes people who act on someone else's orders. I cannot have any different opinion, as after that incident I saw other athletes appear with similar messages, yet they were not punished," he noted. U.S. figure skater Maxim Naumov, after Tuesday's short program, for instance displayed, without censure, a picture of his parents, who perished in the Potomac River mid-air collision just over a year ago.
Usyk, who was crowned the undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion for the second time last summer, was in Tallinn at the invitation of Kalev Boxing Club. For the young boxers, meeting one of the most successful fighters of the present day came as a pleasant surprise, and the Ukrainian star posed for numerous photos and signed plenty of autographs.
"My Estonian friends invited me here to talk about developing sports and boxing and to exchange experiences. I know that many of our Ukrainian boys are training here as well, those who have had to leave our country because of the war and can now continue their training here," Usyk explained.
"It's a wonderful thing when people support one another through sport. In the boxing ring we fight like athletes do, but afterwards we have dinner together and discuss how we trade blows," he added.
Usyk said he is eagerly awaiting the end of Russia's war of aggression and the rebuilding of his country. "Oleksandr Usyk's dream is that the horror taking place in our country would end as soon as possible and that we could begin rebuilding our beautiful country anew. Everything is being taken by force. We must also be strong ourselves and remain strong. I am absolutely convinced that everything will turn out well for us. We just have to cleanse our country. And that's all."
IOC President Kirsty Coventry's predecessor, Thomas Bach, had attracted controversy over a perceived closeness to and friendliness with the Russian regime. Russia and Belarus were both barred from competing at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Usyk, 39, is the first two-time undisputed heavyweight world champion, ie. champion in all professional associations, since Muhammad Ali.
In 2021, he defeated British boxer Anthony Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight titles, then in May 2024, he beat another Briton, Tyson Fury to claim the WBC belt and become undisputed heavyweight champion.
In July 2025, he knocked out Daniel Dubois, becoming a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Henrik Laever
