AN EX-WORLD champion boxer nicknamed “The Razor” has turned his skill-full hands to the war in Ukraine to fight against Putin’s troops.
But for the former light middleweight king Serhiy Dzinziruk, shooting Russians dead is a much easier task than any fight he ever faced in the ring.
ChampionFormer champion Serhiy Dzinziruk has fought in the war since Putin invaded and says he was always more scared in the ring than on the frontlines[/caption]
GettyDzinziruk was the world champion during his career and had an impressive unbeaten record for over a decade[/caption]
Dzinziruk (second from left) now fights in Kyiv’s Territorial Defence unitChampion
Dzinziruk bravely signed up to Kyiv’s Territorial Defence unit in Ukraine after seeing the horrors of war unfold on his doorstep.
He was quickly appointed as a unit commander and a reserve officer – a role he thrived in as the fighting ramped up.
The 47-year-old spoke about his daily wartime routine saying: “We have two machine guns, a searchlight, a night vision device.
“When the siren starts, we take positions, wait for the shaheds. Our task is to destroy them. We shoot only our zone at 45 degrees.
“We were trained for about a month, we learned to shoot with various weapons. Guys returning from the front for treatment taught us all the basics of military art.”
After becoming an integral part of his unit, the former world champion is still battling it out against Putin’s troops on the frontlines to this day.
But his current situation inside cramped trenches sits miles apart from his old life inside the ropes.
Dzinziruk made it clear that despite the idea of barbaric warfare being a far cry from his usual technically perfect boxing skills, he found one much scarier than the other.
He said in an interview with UP-Sport: “I did not take the threat of a full-scale invasion seriously. I did not prepare for this but when I entered the ring, preparation for championship fights lasted two to three months.
“There is time to study the opponent, think about the scenario of the upcoming match and get a little excited. In our work, there is no time for that. So I was more worried in the ring.”
The best heavyweight of a generation Wladimir Klitschko previously dubbed Dzinziruk “one of the most technical boxers in the world”.
This expert ability to hit and not get hit by his formidable opponents earned Dzinziruk an impressive 37 wins across his 40-fight career.
He also earned the nickname of “The Razor” for his unique ability to leave almost all of his opponents with nasty cuts on their face from his lightening fast hands.
From 1999 all the way through to 2010, Dzinziruk was unbeaten with a perfect 37-0 record.
He managed to pick up the WBO Inter-Continental, European and then the light middleweight title in this incredible run.
Dzinziruk even gave Putin a stern warning saying: “For his crimes against millions of Ukrainians, he should die slowly and painfully.”
When asked which other Ukrainian fighters he would like to fight alongside in the war Dzinziruk listed an impressive five names of former world champions and one current in Oleksandr Usyk.
His other four were Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko and Andrii Kotelnyk and Yura Nuzhnenko.
BOXERS ON THE FRONTLINE
Oleksandr Usyk – the fearless unbeaten father-of three, followed in the footsteps of Dzinziruk and also enlisted with the Kyiv Territorial Defence when the war first broke out.
The world champion says he lost friends, was separated from family and even saw people die through binoculars when he helped out.
He explained: “Through binoculars, from 900 metres, I saw my enemies running, exploding tanks and broken houses. I saw people with no legs and arms.
“I saw people walking but looking like they were dead.
“When I was going in the car around the city, I realised it was a dead city. I saw children’s toys and playgrounds but everything looked dead, there was no energy in the city.”
But perhaps the greatest ex-boxer to enlist for the fight in Ukraine is Wladimir Klitschko.
Wladimir has refused a boxing comeback in recent years as he pledged to fight on the frontline.
He enlisted in Ukraine’s reserve army in early February and has publicly pleaded with Russia to end the war.
However his brother Vitali, has done the most for Ukraine since the Russian invasion two-years-ago.
The former heavyweight ruler, 50, last fought in 2012 and retired a year later to focus on politics.
The father-of-three who married wife Natalie in 1996, has been the mayor of Kyiv since 2014.
And as a result, it left the ex-boxer ‘no choice’ but to take up arms.
He told ITV: “I don’t have another choice. I have to do that. I will be fighting.”
Masterful southpaw, Vasiliy Lomachenko, 34, is one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time, leaving the unpaid ranks with a record of 396-1 and two Olympic gold medals.
But he also pledged his loyalty to his nation and decided to keep fighting on the Ukrainian front line instead of box.
Oleksandr Onyshchenko – part of the country’s national team – died in combat near the besieged city of Bakhmut, last year.
Dzinziruk says he hopes Putin has a ‘slow and painful death’Champion
GettyDzinziruk with his daughter Nadja after one of his fights[/caption]
AlamyThe Ukrainian boxer had the nickname ‘The Razor’[/caption]