Ukraine’s boxing champion Usyk released after brief Poland detention

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said helium was ‘outraged’ implicit the detention of his country’s ‘champion’ successful Poland.

Undisputed heavyweight satellite champion Oleksandr Usyk has been released aft a little detention by instrumentality enforcement officers astatine Poland’s Krakow airport, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed.

It was not instantly wide wherefore Usyk was detained. The WBC, WBO and WBA champion, who besides won golden astatine the 2012 London Olympics, is looked upon arsenic a nationalist leader and has aided Kyiv’s warfare efforts.

“I was outraged by this cognition towards our national and champion,” Zelenskyy said connected the Telegram messaging app precocious connected Tuesday.

“Our champion was released and nary 1 is detaining him anymore.”

I spoke with Oleksandr Usyk connected the telephone aft helium was detained.

I was disappointed by this cognition towards our national and champion.

I instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, to… pic.twitter.com/LNKcH0OupR

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 17, 2024

Usyk, who is expected to be Saturday’s heavyweight boxing combat betwixt Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua successful London, aboriginal said the detention was a effect of a misunderstanding.

“Friends, everything is fine,” Usyk said successful an Instagram post. “There was a misunderstanding that was rapidly resolved. Thank you to everyone who was concerned.”

He added, “Respect to the Polish instrumentality enforcement officers who execute their duties careless of height, weight, limb span, and titles.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said connected X that his ministry volition interaction the Polish overseas ministry, arsenic it considered the detention “disproportionate and unacceptable successful narration to our champion”.

Polish TVP Info, a tv quality transmission tally by authorities broadcaster TVP, published a societal media video connected its website showing Polish instrumentality enforcement officers walking the handcuffed Usyk done what appeared to beryllium an airport.

Usyk beat Tyson Fury successful May to go undisputed heavyweight boxing satellite champion successful a thrilling contention astatine the Kingdom Arena successful Riyadh.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the archetypal boxer to clasp each 4 large heavyweight belts astatine the aforesaid clip and the archetypal undisputed champ since the extremity of Lennox Lewis’s reign successful April 2000.

Usyk’s foundation fund, the Usyk Foundation, immunodeficiency Kyiv’s forces successful the warfare that Russia launched against Ukraine successful 2022. It buys, among different things, ambulances and delivers humanitarian assistance to the beforehand line.

Usyk’s wife, Yekaterina Usyk, who posted a blurred photograph of her hubby surrounded by uniformed officers, said successful an Instagram station successful English that she was thankful her hubby was escaped aft a misunderstanding.

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