Oleksandr Usyk plays football despite alleged back injury

There is simply a increasing suspicion that Ukrainian boxing maestro Oleksandr Usyk whitethorn not beryllium genuinely hurt. The satellite heavyweight champion, who knocked retired Daniel Dubois successful July and became the implicit ruler of the division, was expected to support the WBO loop against mandatory challenger Joseph Parker. However, Usyk asked for a three-month postponement of the lucifer owed to a backmost wounded and got it.

Parker didn't privation to wait, truthful helium decided to combat Fabio Wardley, and Usyk was ordered to look the winner. But soon aft the hold was granted, the 36-year-old Ukrainian appeared successful a foundation shot lucifer successful Portugal, alongside legends specified arsenic Michael Owen, John Terry and Henrik Larsson.

Reactions

In the footage published connected X, Usyk tin beryllium seen warming up adjacent to the touchline, moving and entering the crippled - which angered galore boxing fans.

One idiosyncratic wrote nether the video: 

"Take distant his spot belts now." 

Another adjacent tagged WBO and enactment president Gustavo Olivieri, claiming: 

"The satellite heavyweight champion is faking an injury. He should beryllium stripped of his rubric and Parker should beryllium boxing for the fig 1 spot."

Usyk was antecedently seen dancing astatine a enactment successful August, prompting the WBO to petition an updated aesculapian report. Parker's squad expressed vexation implicit the hold of negotiations, particularly considering Usyk's activities extracurricular the ring. 

Parker's promoter, David Higgins, said:

"Honestly, I haven't seen the aesculapian evidence, but you'd deliberation a superior wounded would forestall things similar this."

All these situations origin further contention successful the satellite of boxing. While immoderate judge that Usyk truly needs a break, others judge that this is an denotation of a deficiency of professionalism and that the enactment should respond by taking distant the belt. It is wide that the adjacent play volition beryllium important for the solution of this dispute, and that each of his activities volition beryllium intimately monitored.