OLEKSANDR USYK is gearing up for his world title clash with Tyson Fury.
And ahead of the heavyweight bout, his five sparring partners have been revealed.
Usyk faces The Gypsy King on Feb 17 and is hoping to become the undisputed champ with all four belts on the line next month.
And to do so he will have to make sure he is training to reach his absolute best – that includes his sparring.
The Mirror have revealed the five men who are braving the Ukrainian’s fists during his camp and it could spell trouble for Fury.
Usyk has collected a number of hard hitters and heavyweight fighters to get him ready for the big fight.
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Sanel Hasonivic
Sanel Hasonivic is one of Usyk’s sparring partners ahead of his fight with Fury.
The 6ft 8in heavyweight has an impressive 7-1 record and has won six of his fights by knockout.
The 25-year-old Serbian sent a message to Fury after his sparring sessions with Usyk.
He said: “After some serious sparring, I believe you will emerge victorious in the fight against Tyson Fury!”
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Mariusz Wach
Mariusz Wach is another giant that is helping Usyk prepare in his bid to be the undisputed world champ.
Wach has experience against some of the biggest names in heavyweight boxing including Dillian Whyte.
But it was his challenge for the unified heavyweight world titles against Wladimir Klitschko in 2012 that gained him the most attention.
The 44-year-old narrowly lost out on points and will be a valuable sparring partner for Usyk.
Emmanuel Odiase
As far as experience training with the best goes, Emmauel Odiase is hard to beat.
Despite only making his pro boxing debut in October – with a win against Emre Altintas – the German heavyweight has sparred with some huge names.
Odiase previously worked with Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora as well as helping Usyk in the past as he prepared for his fight against Daniel Dubois.
Volodymyr Katsuk
A fellow Ukrainian, Volodymyr Katsuk, is another who has helped big name fighters in the past.
The 35-year-old worked with Klitschko previously and has a record of 5-1 in the ring by himself.
Katsuk also helped Robert Helenius’ spar in preperation for his fight with Wilder back in 2022.
Darren Sealy
Perhaps the most unusual name on the list is that of Darren Sealy.
The unknown British fighter stands at a whopping 6ft 9in and is relatively new to pro boxing.
Sealy made his professional debut last year against fellow Brit Phil Williams, but wasn’t able to come away with a win.
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Although he was part of Francis Ngannou’s team that helped him prepare for what was a shock performance against Fury in October.
However the most notable thing about Sealy may actually be that he an aspiring actor as well as a heavyweight boxer.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
