Oleksandr Usyk names the one fighter he hates

Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has named a particular German opponent as the one fighter he has faced who has ‘hated’.

Speaking to Carl Frampton on DAZN, the Ukrainian fighter – who fights Daniel Dubois tonight – said that the only opponent he has ever hated has been Marco Huck, whom he defended his WBO cruiserweight championship against in 2017. Usyk won that bout by stoppage in the tenth round in Berlin, Germany.

According to Usyk, Huck remains the only opponent that he has ever hated.

Frampton asked Usyk if he had any flaws or weaknesses in his game.

Usyk replied: “My weakness is that I love people. I love my opponents. Only one of my opponents I don’t love – Marco Huck.”

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He added: “Not good. Bad guy, because he said mean words to my mama. It’s bad. But all my British rivals – great people.”

Usyk named the British fighters that had left a good impression on him, such as Tony Bellew (“He’s a great man. Give me opportunity.”), Derek Chisora (“Great man.”), and Anthony Joshua (“Thank you so much for this guy.”).

He went on: “Listen, I love the UK. I love UK people and my opponents.”

Over on Facebook, Huck posted the video with the message. He did not address Usyk’s statement that he had insulted Usyk’s mother.

Attempting to use hashtags to posit the idea of a second fight between the pair, Huck wrote: “How can you not love me?”

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The chances of a rematch between Huck and Usyk are very slim. Since their 2017 meeting, their careers have diverged significantly. After beating Huck, Usyk unified the cruiserweight titles with victories over Mairis Briedis, Murat Gassiev, and Tony Bellew before moving to heavyweight and becoming unified and undisputed champion with victories over Anthony Joshua (twice), Tyson Fury (twice), and Daniel Dubois.

Huck, meanwhile, has seen his career slide. He last fought in September 2024, when he won a ten-round decision over Evgenios Lazaridis in Berlin. Before that, Huck had missed a handful of cancelled fights including one against Joe Joyce in Hanover and an earlier scheduled fight against Lazaridis in Braunlage, Germany. He also managed uninspiring wins over Yakup Saglam and Dennis Lewandowski, and a no-contest against Nick Guivas.

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