Oleksandr Usyk will relax in unorthodox fashion in the hours before making his entrance into a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium boiling with the hostility of 60,000 Anthony Joshua fans.
‘If I read a book it will the Bible,’ Usyk says. ‘The words of God.’
There may also be time to watch a Netflix episode or two of Peaky Blinders, the period series about a gangland mob in Birmingham of which he says: ‘This is how a family should be. Protecting and standing up for each other. My favourite character is the boss Thomas (played by Cillian Murphy). It is like real life. It is cool and emotional. And I like the smart way they dress.
Usyk will relax in unorthodox fashion in the hours before making his entrance on Saturday
‘I will also talk to my loved one (wife Kateryna). Talk to my son Mykhailo to make sure he goes to school. Which he does not like but needs to do to get the knowledge to become a man. Which also makes me feel stronger.’
And Usyk will chat with his team which now includes the father and trainer of Vasiliy Lomachenko, his fellow Ukrainian master boxer.
Of Papachenko, as they both call Anatoly Lomachenko, he says: ‘He is a great man. He will be with me. Next to me. He is helping me to be a great man as well.’
He is also helping Usyk make the challenging transition from cruiserweight, in which division he was the undisputed world champion, to heavyweight. With Joshua in the offing, Papachenko took over as head trainer.
Usyk will fight Anthony Joshua and look to win AJ's IBF, WBA and WBO straps (above)
Usyk has said he will either read the bible or watch Peaky Blinders (above) before the fight
The scale of this task has been emphasised by how Usyk appeared to struggle against bigger, heavier men in his first two fights at heavyweight, although he stopped American journeyman Chazz Witherspoon in seven rounds and outpointed Derek Chisora.
Tyson Fury has suggested Usyk may have been partly playing possum in these contests to lull AJ into complacency but the undefeated man himself says: ‘I am confident of beating Joshua even though he has a combination of factors. I know that as a London Olympic gold medallist, like
