OLEKSANDR USYK missed the birth of his newborn daughter while preparing to fight Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian secretly set up shop in Valencia to train for the fight of his life on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Oleksandr Usyk with his wife YekaterinaRichard Pelham / The Sun
But disaster struck just two weeks out as Fury suffered a horror cut in sparring that left him with no choice but to withdraw from the bout.
It came as a hammer blow for Usyk, who had been so focused on training he missed the birth of his daughter last Thursday.
His sparring partner Emanuel Odiase told The Mirror: “I don’t know if a lot of people know this, but he missed his baby’s birth for this. He was in Spain preparing when his wife was giving birth in Ukraine.
“He was so focused on camp that he stayed in Spain and he missed it for that, so it’s extra annoying I can imagine.
“He’s been in Spain for two or three months, but his daughter was born a couple of days ago.
“He looked the best in this camp, as good as ever. I think he felt it as well. He was in good shape and then boom, fight is postponed.
“As the man he is, I don’t think he will get distracted. I wish them all the best and a lot of health, it’s annoying but that’s life.
“You’ve got to stay cool, calm and collected because if you let that stuff get in your head it’s not good for you.”
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Usyk has been married to wife Yekaterina for 15 years and they now have four children together, Kyrylo, Mykhalio, Yelizaveta and their newborn.
It remains to be seen whether the unified heavyweight champ will remain in camp after it was announced he will now fight Fury on May 18.
But Odiase revealed that – not for the first time – Usyk was raring to go.
He said: “It’s going to be annoying for him because he’s been peaking in training camp.
“He’s done that before, I was out in Turkey last March when he was preparing for their fight that was supposed to happen in April but it never happened.
“He’s in really good form and is prepared for the style Fury is going to bring to the table.”
@emaodiaseUsyk with sparring partner Emanuel Odiase[/caption]