‘Spiky’ and a ‘rascal’ – the zany personality of Oleksandr Usyk from dressing like The Joker to gym dancing hides a bulletproof mentality and steely determination Anthony Joshua needs to smash through

Oleksandr Usyk carries himself as a showman: a zany, wild-eyed jester as likely to be seen dancing around his gym in his underpants as he is boxing rings around his opponents.

But you do not become an Olympic gold medallist, an undisputed cruiserweight champion, then a heavyweight champion and arguably boxing’s pound-for-pound no.1 – without serious inner steel.

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Just occasionally, Usyk – who takes on Anthony Joshua in an enticing world-title rematch on Saturday – lets his mask slip to reveal his fearsome drive and competitive hunger.

In 2020, Usyk had a surprisingly tough night against Derek Chisora during his second fight at heavyweight. It was a bout the Ukrainian clearly won by decision, but one where he was mauled and bullied in the early rounds by a fighter who already had nine losses on his record – and had been stopped by the likes of Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte and David Haye.

“Three out of 10,” was a bruised Usyk’s verdict on his performance during an unusually spiky post-fight interview. Asked if his so-so display had left more questions than answers on whether he could be an effective heavyweight, Usyk said via his translator: “I don’t know… these questions are for fans, for boxing ‘experts’ – whatever that means.”

Pushed on whether his goal was still to become a heavyweight world champ, with naturally bigger men such as Fury and Joshua standing in his way, Usyk replied in the affirmative. Then as Sky Sports’ reporter was wrapping the interview up, Usyk cut across him, switching to English to make his point crystal clear: “Not just world champion; not just world champion,” Usyk repeated. “Undisputed world champion.”

His objective was explicit. Not many believed on the basis of his performance against Chisora that this all-time great cruiserweight could topple giants like Fury, Joshua or Deontay Wilder. But Usyk did not just want to pick up an alphabet belt at heavyweight then scurry away – he was coming for them all: AJ, Fury, Wilder. Whoever stood in his way.

Self-belief is at the very top of Usyk’s key attributes, right up there with his fleet footwork or southpaw jab. After all, the 35-year-old is perhaps the greatest road warrior in the history of boxing.

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Usyk has not fought in Ukraine since his ninth pro fight in 2015. Since then he has beaten (deep breath): Poland’s Krzysztof Glowacki in Gdansk, America’s Michael Hunter in Maryland, Germany’s Marco Huck in Berlin, Latvia’s Mairis Briedis in Riga, Russia’s Murat Gassiev in Moscow, Britain’s Tony Bellew in Manchester, America’s Chazz Witherspoon in Chicago, then the British pair of Chisora and Joshua, both in London.

Nine fights, nine wins, all giving away home advantage. By comparison, Saudi Arabia must feel like neutral territory (and even here AJ has the advantage of having boxed and won in these conditions before, when he saw off Andy Ruiz Jr in his first pro rematch). To continually fight in your opponent’s back yard, knowing the fans – and potentially judges – are against you, yet keep on winning is a remarkable feat of mental endurance.

But Usyk keeps his competitive drive hidden behind his quirky humour and larger-than-life personality. In one of the final press conferences before his fight with Joshua last year, Usyk turned up dressed as the Joker. Appropriate as just like Batman’s nemesis, it’s impossible to know what’s really going on behind Usyk’s wide, gap-toothed grin. When he points at AJ’s muscles and acts awe-struck at the weigh-in 24 hours before they step in the ring, is it deliberate mind games or just Usyk being himself? It’s a riddle few have solved.

Ahead of this fight, Usyk has shared more of his true feelings than ever before as he highlights the atrocities of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, during which his own home was shot at by Russian troops. He’s spoken about defending his country, praying he would not have to shoot anyone every day, and trying to explain the invasion to his crying daughter.

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But you get a strong sense that Usyk is saying this to draw attention to the hardships his homeland is enduring, not because he is compelled to share his innermost thoughts. Ask him a question about his own motivation for fighting or his hunger for success and you can expect a stock answer. This deeply religious athlete with the Cossack warrior haircut keeps his private family life and personal motivations out of the spotlight.

If Usyk is an enigma, Joshua has been guilty of oversharing in the past; of giving too much of himself away. As if the pressure of fighting under blazing scrutiny was not enough, Joshua has tried to wear various faces from brand ambassador to being a global citizen of the world, as he once put it. He has wisely stepped back from the limelight in the buildup to this make-or-break rematch, but the curiosity is that a man who seemed such a natural on the biggest stage – who first took to sold-out stadium fights like a duck to water – appears increasingly inhibited (inside and outside the ropes).

Promoter Eddie Hearn warned Joshua about getting too cosy with Usyk before their first fight, calling the Ukrainian “a rascal”, “a strange one” and adding, “he is quite scary, because he looks like he’s got zero fear”.

Usyk rarely if ever talks pre-fight tactics, keeping his cards close to his chest. But when told that Joshua’s plan is to be much more aggressive in their rematch, that he was likely to be aiming for a KO, Usyk replied: “Let him think about that… Let him desire that.”

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Before his last fight at cruiserweight, against Bellew in 2018, there was mutual respect in abundance but the lucid ‘Bomber’ naturally tried to gain a pre-fight edge, heaping pressure on his undefeated rival by continually labelling him the bout’s superstar.

“Tony likes to talk a lot,” said Usyk cheerfully. “But he cannot get into my head. No one but me gets into my head.”

Usyk does not do pre-fight predictions, but there is one thing you can take as a cast-iron guarantee. The defending champion on Saturday night is not unbeatable. He was roughed up by Chisora, cracked hard by Bellew and pushed to the brink of defeat by Briedis.

But he has overcome injury layoffs, overcome constant fights away from home, overcome his natural 200lb frame to be battling for the heavyweight world title.

Usyk may not be invincible but his mentality is bulletproof. Whatever gaps in the armour Joshua and his team can pinpoint, they know Usyk’s will to win is absolutely undeniable.