Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk broke down in tears during a post-fight news conference when asked about his late father.
Usyk, 37, claimed a split decision victory against Tyson Fury to become the first four-belt era undisputed heavyweight champion.
The Ukrainian lost his father shortly after winning gold at the 2012 Olympics.
Usyk implied that the last time his father visited him was in his dreams.
“I miss my father and I said to him ‘you live there and I live here, please don’t come for me, I love you’,” an emotional Usyk said.
“For me it is hard when my father comes back to me because I remember all life. I know he is here, maybe sitting out there [in the press room].”
This fight was initially scheduled to take place on 17 February but a “freak” cut suffered by Fury earlier that month led to this bout being postponed.
That meant Usyk had to extend his camp to ensure he could remain in good shape physically and mentally.
“I don’t think about boxing now, please,” Uysk said when asked about a rematch.
“My camp started in September 2023, I worked for nine months.
“I missed Happy New Year, I missed my son’s birthday, I missed my other son’s birthday, I missed my daughter’s birthday and then the birth of my daughter.
“I also missed family holidays. I was only focused on this fight, now I’m happy and I want to go back home.”
This is the first defeat of Fury’s 36-fight career and will take some time to fully digest before planning a return to the ring.
BBC Sports reports that both fighters had agreed to an immediate rematch clause when they first signed the contracts and there has been a suggestion that it could take place in October.
However, after saying in the ring they were ready to fight each other again, Usyk and Fury showed a reluctance to fully commit to an immediate rematch.
“I’m going home to eat some food, have some drinks, have some family time walk the dog, go to the tip and then me and Frank [Warren] will talk about what is going to happen in the future,” Fury said at his post-fight news conference.
“I’m not boxing because I have now money, I do it because I love it.
“I’m 36 in a few months and I’ve been boxing since I was a child.”
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