Oleksandr Usyk is perched on a sofa in a Manhattan hotel. “I think it is the last dance,” says Usyk, now 39 and still undefeated as a professional. Until he vacated his titles earlier this year, he was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, holding all four major belts.The Ukrainian fighter, tall, broad and mighty, smiles as I suggest we have heard plenty of fighters promise one final bout, only to be tempted out of retirement not long after.“I don’t know why,” Usyk says. “Tyson Fury. Stops, comes back. Stops, comes back. We live a long time in this sport, so it’s very hard to say, ‘For me, it’s done’. But when you spend a lot of time at work, your body is tired. Me also. I’m not made of iron, I am not an alien. I have a family, my sons, my daughters.”Usyk is in talks with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing for a farewell fight against Deontay Wilder in the United States, with conversations also involving Zuffa’s Saudi co-founder Turki Al-Sheikh.“Why not?” Usyk tells The Athletic. “If Deontay’s team wants it, I do it. Money, business… now we have two options, but what for me is good, we will take. The team is working on it.”He is vague on the other options. Previous reports have suggested the possibility of a crossover fight against Jon Jones, the mixed martial artist who has not fought since November 2024. Usyk says his wife and his team are a no-no on him contesting in a UFC format, while he says he would not do it in boxing.In May, he scored a stoppage victory in a boxing meeting with kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, who pushed him harder than most ever expected. Instead of defending his WBC belt against mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel, Usyk decided to give up all his titles. Usyk says this is because he knows what it is like to be a young guy waiting in the “queue” for an opportunity. It’s likely his view is that he has little left to prove and that he can choose his bouts rather than be subjected to the pressures and politics of the sport.Oleksandr Usyk secured a stoppage victory over kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in May (Mohamed Hossam/Getty Images)Usyk won gold at world, European and Olympic level as an amateur, before becoming undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, twice beating each of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.He says his teenage sons pray for him before his fights. They and his eldest daughter Elizabeth want to attend, but he does not let them. “It will make them nervous, and then I feel these nerves,” he says softly. “I said only to watch on TV and then for the last dance…maybe.”He says he does not worry about his own health when it comes to boxing, despite some of the long-term injuries endured by his peers. “I’m not nervous about myself; I believe in Jesus Christ, he is my God.”Usyk is a little more squeamish when asked if he would like his children to go into sport. He says his sons are into judo and says he would support them if they chose to box, but he speaks with much more enthusiasm about education.“When I was growing up, I started work at 12 years old. I went to work on the farm, with horses and sheep. Boxing is a sport for a poor guy, because when you live in too much comfort and you have silky clothes and silky pyjamas, it becomes very, very, very hard to wake up early in the morning (to train). When you have cars and you have the money, it is (harder).“Every time my son says, ‘Hey, Papa, you have money’, I say, ‘Yes, I have money, because I work. But for your future, your work, I beg you, go for education’. When I grow up, I didn’t have that opportunity.”In later life, Usyk committed to academia, completing a Master’s degree in psychology. He says his interest developed around the time he competed at the 2008 Olympic Games and he read autobiographies by leading performers in different sports, including sprinter Usain Bolt and tennis star Roger Federer.“They have the same character,” he says. “Don’t stop, never give up. The first thing is discipline and personality. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo, aged 41, or these other guys playing at that age. If we have four guys, say Cristiano and three talented guys, who works every day and has the discipline to win? And who says, ‘Hmm, I’m talented. I play, I go to rest’? I believe talent is only one per cent. Ninety-nine per cent: it’s work.“I am lucky because I love my work, my business, my life. It’s hard, but I like it. A lot of people don’t like what they do. They think today is a bad day, because they are gonna go to work.”Oleksandr Usyk is thinking about life after boxing (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)In recent years, Usyk’s mission has become broader than merely individual greatness. He takes his responsibility to Ukraine, now over four years into a full-blown war with Russian invaders, extremely seriously.“I’m not a politician,” he says. “I’m just a Ukrainian guy. We have problems every day, because every day in Ukraine, Russia attacks: bombs, rockets, ballistics, every day, every night. But we continue to work. It’s hard what happens now, but I know we will win.“Russian propaganda says it is Ukrainians bombing Ukrainian cities. Me? I’m bombing my city? It is Russian propaganda. We must say what happens in the war, what happens in Ukraine, because every day there are dead people. They are not targeting military infrastructure, it is civilian: hospitals, schools, buildings, homes. Ukrainian athletes must say what happens, because a lot of people do not understand.”Earlier this summer, it emerged that the International Olympic Committee is preparing to recognise the Russian Olympic Committee, which may pave the way for Russia to send teams to the Los Angeles-hosted Summer Olympics in 2028.“I think it’s a bad idea,” Usyk says. “Those who support war cannot go to Olympic Games, because… Maybe this man killed a Ukrainian grandmother. Then they go to the Olympic Games? It’s not possible. Because those who support the war are terrorists — so I say not to bring back Russian sportsmen. Today you do attacks and bomb, tomorrow you go to Olympic Games.”It is Usyk’s passion for his country that has also made him slightly more open to novelty fights such as Jake Paul’s against Anthony Joshua, which drew a global audience of 33 million viewers on Netflix last year. He says bringing together two different audiences — a boxing hardcore and casuals roped in by YouTubers — can both grow participation in sport and provide a platform for those who wish to raise attention to social issues.“This is two different worlds,” Usyk says. “Maybe 15-year-olds who are sitting at home, if they see AJ and Jake Paul, they think, ‘I will go tomorrow to training for boxing and wrestling’. So, why not? If I want to speak on TV and speak what happened in my country, then OK. Listen, I think you must work on good for everything, but not bad things, not like a snake.”He does not specify who, exactly, he feels operates like a snake. As the end of his athletic career approaches, Usyk’s promotional company is seeking to promote homegrown boxing heroes.“I want to help young guys, to help Ukrainian sport. Maybe coaching too, because I have a lot of information. I have a very professional team, now we work with AJ (Joshua) too. I want to develop Ukrainian sport, our sport, because we have a lot of guys who have potential.”