The pride of Ukraine, Oleksandr Usyk, is ready to defend his unified status and become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion in his rematch against Daniel Dubois on July 19th at Wembley Stadium in London. ‘The Cat’ shocked the world when he defeated Fury twice last year, and now he would like to achieve the same result with ‘DDD.’

The 38-year-old has a spotless career with an undefeated record of 23-0 and undisputed championships in two weight divisions. While the record is a testament to the Ukrainian’s resilience and discipline, it would not have been possible without the support and dedication of his team. So, before the upcoming fight, let’s take a look at the people behind Usyk’s success.

Oleksandr Usyk’s trainer for fight against Daniel Dubois

‘The Cat’ currently trains under Sergey Lapin, a childhood friend and a long-time member of Usyk’s team. Even before taking the official coaching role, Lapin served as an analyst within the Ukrainian’s camp. It was Lapin’s meticulous and analytical approach that made him the perfect fit to be Oleksandr Usyk’s coach when needed, and it came after years of developing trust and camaraderie.

While Lapin has been instrumental in the unified heavyweight champion’s recent success, he can’t get all the credit. Usyk has had several trainers throughout his career, and every one of them has been responsible for his success. Oleksandr Usyk started his career training under Anatoly Lomachenko, the veteran trainer and father of another Ukrainian boxing star, Vasyl Lomachenko. 

This partnership played a pivotal role in shaping the 38-year-old’s boxing style during his amateur days, and a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics is proof of that. With Lomachenko Sr. primarily focused on training his son, Usyk deemed it perfect to part ways and work with other trainers. Notably, during the first fight against Dubois in 2023, Lomachenko Sr. was the head trainer for Usyk.

Regardless, Uysk has also worked with the likes of James Ali Bashir and Sergey Vatamanyuk before eventually returning to Team Loma in 2017. Both Usyk and Lomanchenko were teammates on Ukraine’s national boxing team and won gold together at the 2012 Olympics. In 2017, they started training together under Lomachenko Sr. It was a return to familiar ground for Oleksandr Usyk, who was used to Lomachenko Sr’s unorthodox training method. 

Under this partnership, the 23-0 boxer became the undisputed cruiserweight champion and also made his switch to the heavyweight division. Finally, let’s take a look at Usyk’s manager, other teammates, and sparring partners.

Oleksandr Usyk’s manager, promoter, and teammates

Oleksandr Usyk has a long-standing partnership with Egis Klimas, who has risen through the depths of hell to become one of the best managers in the boxing world today. Klimas moved to the United States 30-plus years ago and has done all kinds of odd jobs. From a pizza box maker to a crab fisherman, to became the Manager of the Year from the Boxing Writers Association of America in 2016.

Klimas has been instrumental in Usyk’s success in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. The Russian immigrant has a sensational resume with the likes of Vasiliy Lomachenko, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Sergey Kovalev, and Janibek Alimkhanuly fighting under him. Furthermore, Alex Krassyuk serves as Usyk’s promoter. Krassyuk is involved in Crimea natives’ every major fight and has played a significant role in shaping Usyk into the star he is today. Let’s move on and explore the details of Usyk’s training team.

Oleksandr Usyk has made some changes to his sparring team for this rematch. He has added the German heavyweight Peter Kadiru to his team. Kadiru towers at 6′ 4½″, slightly below the 6′ 5″ Daniel Dubois, and packs a similar kind of power. The 20-1 German boxer had defeated Dubois on the amatuer circuit, but later lost to him as well. 

Usyk brought in Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole, a former sparring partner of ‘The Gypsy King,’ to help replicate Tyson Fury’s style. Bakole, boasting an impressive record of 21 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw with 16 knockouts, shares a comparable physique and reach with Fury. Another key addition to Usyk’s camp was Sanel Hasanovic, who was part of the team during their first encounter and has retained his role, thanks to his ability to mimic Fury’s unique attributes.

While the other sparring partners of Oleksandr Usyk for this rematch are still under wraps, the 23-0 boxer has revealed previously that he uses his own app, ‘Ready to Fight,’ to find sparring partners to imitate Dubois. It is possible that he found the likes of Scuderi and Bakole from this app. The app is managed and run by Sergey Lapin, who used his previous analytical skills and integrated with AI to find a perfect sparring partner.

The Ukrainian might have changed his sparring partners, but he still maintains a good connection with all of them. Once again, he has taken all the necessary steps to retain his championship and has left no stone unturned. Will he become a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion? Only time will tell. In the meantime, make sure to leave your predictions down below.