Despite being 38 years old Oleksandr Usyk is still an unstoppable force in boxing Mail Sport went into Usyk's camp to see exactly how he...
- Despite being 38 years old Oleksandr Usyk is still an unstoppable force in boxing
- Mail Sport went into Usyk's camp to see exactly how he's holding off Father Time
- WATCH: Welcome To My Gym with Usyk ahead of Daniel Dubois rematch
It's easy to wonder how is still doing it. How, at 38, he remains unbeaten and untouchable, dancing through danger in boxing's most unforgiving division. Especially now, with a rematch looming against a young and hungrier-than-ever at Wembley Stadium next weekend.
But after stepping inside Usyk's private training camp in Gandia, Spain, for the third consecutive time, it's become clear: Father Time hasn't caught him yet and there's a definitive reason why.
The secret to the Ukrainian's remarkable longevity isn't magic or mystique. It's measurement. Every punch taken in sparring is tracked through micro-sensors in his mouth guard. Blood is drawn during camp to monitor his fatigue and the Ukrainian's memory, sleep and cognitive stress is all recorded, analysed, adapted. His camp is less like a gym and more like a lab.
And it's in that lab, that a very modern kind of champion is being rebuilt for another run at glory. A champion looking to become undisputed for the third time in boxing's four-belt era.
Usyk's alarm goes off at 5.30am every day. He doesn't scroll through his phone or sip a cup coffee. He undergoes an orthostatic test, giving his team a snapshot of how well his heart has recovered overnight. Nearby, others are collecting data from the sensors monitoring his sleep. Only then does his day begin. Sixty minutes of low-intensity aerobic training, usually a steady run or cycle, followed by a series of gymnastic exercises.
Breakfast comes after.
Technical training or sparring takes place mid-morning, followed by recovery and preparation for a second block in the evening. In the final five weeks of camp, sparring takes over. Sixty percent of all work becomes fight simulation, high stress, high output, and heavily monitored.
Jakub Chycki, Usyk's strength and conditioning coach, speaks not like a trainer, but like a performance scientist. He explains that every blow in sparring is tracked with mouth guard sensors that measure head acceleration. Blood samples are taken throughout camp to assess biomarkers related to fatigue, inflammation, and even mild traumatic brain injuries.
Such an approach may explain why Usyk, well into his thirties, continues to outpace peers who've long begun to fade.
'We monitor Usyk's sparring sessions and check for any mild traumatic brain injuries,' he tells Mail Sport.
'We collect information on the number of blows received during training and monitor his head acceleration. We collect the data by using monitoring systems integrated into his mouth guard. We can then assess the impact of sparring on his working memory. At critical moments, we also secure blood samples for biochemical and molecular testing. We then adapt how much sparring or how many rounds he is doing.'
Cognitive training has also played a key role in his preparation. Usyk's known for juggling and flipping coins, but this camp goes beyond simple reaction drills. He's been doing deeper neurological work designed to improve what Chycki calls Usyk's 'executive function' - essentially, his ability to plan, recall, adapt, and problem-solve in real time.
Anyone who's watched Usyk knows this is one of his greatest strengths in the ring.
'We do a lot of cognitive training. It's not just his reactions we were working on. Of course those reactions are important but they aren't actually the most important. Brain executive function is. It's his operating memory. In boxing, operating memory is crucial for learning and executing techniques as well as strategic thinking during a fight.
'While boxing sessions can help with muscle memory, it's important to develop Usyk's conscious awareness and strategic decision-making. When he does these exercises, they boost key brain proteins that are crucial for learning, memory, and neuron growth. This type of training improves his attention and his focus while also providing therapy for the mild traumatic brain injuries he picks up in sparring'.
Wednesdays are swim days. Usyk has long used water training to build stamina, a practice that traces back to Anatoly Lomachenko, father of Vasyl, who once instructed him to swim open-air 10K for mental toughness. He now swims over 90 minutes once a week, changing pace to simulate the demands of a fight. He also practices breath-holding - sometimes underwater - which may seem odd for a boxer, but it's rooted in science. Breath control has been linked to improved lung capacity and psychological resilience under duress.
After sparring days, Usyk hits the ice bath. The facility downstairs at his gym include a cold plunge pool set between eight and ten degrees Celsius, and a sauna next to it. Usyk and his training partner Daniel Lapin use it three times a week, especially after high-volume sessions.
'Usyk uses an ice bath three times a week. He will use the ice bath after his sparring sessions as he will spar in the morning and then do either a strength and conditioning or cognitive training session in the evening,' Chycki says.
'The ice bath is eight to 10 degrees and Usyk will be in there for around three to five minutes. That's the optimal environment to improve recovery. But, it's also a good time to measure his fatigue. When we are at the point in camp where he is completing the highest volume, we will take his blood before and after the ice bath. We can then access how he is peaking.'
Recovery monitoring doesn't stop at water immersion. Eye scans, sleep data, hormone panels, and continuous heart rate variability are all used to inform training decisions.
But, despite the high-tech gear, you'd never guess a world champion trained here. Situated just off a dual carriageway, the camp sits in the middle of nowhere - in a building that used to sell hatchbacks. Usyk keeps a small, tight-knit team, and while the setup isn't flashy, it's full of character: a basketball hoop and table tennis table downstairs where they unwind between sessions, and the glowing 'UNDISPUTED' sign that reminds you who calls this place home.
There's a full boxing ring upstairs, cardio machines flanking one wall, a strength area along the other, and an eye-catching mural of the Ukrainian flag that greeted you as soon as you walk in. On another, Usyk had spray-painted messages to each member of his team - inside jokes, funny drawings, cryptic notes no outsider could decode.
A steel frame held up his punch bag and next to it, a prayer. Every session, without fail, began and ended with Usyk standing in front of it, reciting the words, making the sign of the cross, and closing his eyes. The Cossack flag fluttered nearby. It wasn't for show. For Usyk, camp was a place of faith as much as it was a place of violence.
But violence is what Usyk will be bringing on July 19 when he faces Dubois again at Wembley Stadium for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
Their first fight ended with an Usyk win, but not without controversy. In the fifth round, Dubois landed a powerful body shot that dropped the champion. It was ruled a low blow. Dubois and his team still disputed the call. They felt Usyk would have missed the count without the extra time to recover.
Usyk hasn't forgotten. The fight played on repeat in the gym, with his coaches dissecting every frame and exchanging tactical notes between rounds.
'I have the fight on all the time when I am training', Usyk said after his session.
'I think about the opportunities I am going to take. I don't think about Daniel when I watch it. I think about me. It's a good way to prepare. Looking at the first fight we can learn a lot. My coach looks at Daniel's mistakes, my mistakes and then my sparring partner watches the video and does the same so I can rehearse what I am going to do to Daniel.'
Life inside camp wasn't all discipline and data. Usyk's two sons visited during one session, climbing into the ring and wrestling each other to their father's delight. He watched, laughed, even offered them tips.
When they did switch off, Usyk and his team often walked into town and headed for the local gaming store. Inside, they competed on consoles, often late into the night. Usyk and Sergey Lapin, the camp's director, are said to be the ones to beat.
That balance - between science and spirit, grit and laughter - is what defines Usyk. Age is inevitable. Decline is not. There is no telling how long he can keep holding off the younger, heavier, more explosive challengers. But from the quiet intensity of the converted garage in Spain, it's clear: Father Time hadn't landed clean yet.
Usyk vs. Dubois 2 will take place on July 19 at Wembley Stadium, with the whole card set to be shown DAZN PPV.
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