How Brain Training Created A Heavyweight Monster In Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois 2

Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: Saturday, 19 July

Coverage: Listen connected BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds, travel unrecorded matter commentary from 20:00 BST connected Saturday, 19 July connected BBC Sport website and app.

Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk leaves nary chromatic unturned successful his pursuit of greatness.

The way to nan pinnacle of pugilism is treacherous and littered pinch obstacles.

Many person tried and grounded to scope nan upland apical but Usyk, 38, has climbed to nan peak, group up campy and isn't consenting to vacate his spot immoderate clip soon.

Usyk's latest situation comes successful nan style of IBF title-holder Daniel Dubois astatine Wembley Stadium connected Saturday.

For some, training camps attraction connected spot and conditioning. Others judge nutrition is key, while Team Usyk make nan physiological and psychological broadside of nan crippled a apical priority.

WBA (Super), WBO and WBC champion Usyk has been combining cognitive and beingness training to hole for his rematch pinch Dubois.

"We create nan optimal psychological situation for cognitive exercise," Jakub Chycki, who is Usyk's physiologist, told BBC Sport.

"We harvester nan aerial motorcycle pinch a representation exercise. Sometimes we usage lights for this task and sometimes we harvester pinch hand-eye coordination aliases juggling."

BBC Sport travelled to Spain to watch Usyk's training authorities and speak to his soul circle astir what makes him tick.

The reward for a 2nd triumph complete Briton Dubois is simply a spot successful a very elite nine arsenic a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.

Only George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Muhammad Ali person achieved that feat, but Usyk will beryllium nan first to do it successful nan four-belt era if he is successful.

Usyk is nary alien to facing an force for a 2nd clip - he has twice beaten Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua - but his preparations ne'er centre astir nan opponent.

Instead, Usyk is put nether immense beingness fatigue earlier being tasked pinch intelligence tests to fortify his expertise to deliberation connected nan spot erstwhile he's successful nan ring.

During reliable beingness workouts, Usyk is asked to lick a Schulte table, which is simply a grid filled pinch numbers aliases letters that request to beryllium ordered into a circumstantial sequence.

Another task is juggling balls pinch nan intent of keeping his mind focused arsenic he recovers from a play of cardio training.

"We cognize everything astir Usyk's physiology and really his assemblage useful nether different stresses," Chycki added.

"We cognize really we should publication his signals and symptoms. We didn't alteration anything.

"We person a information array each Saturday and look astatine what we've done and what needs to change. We don't alteration to nan opponents' strategy."

One of nan awesome wellness risks concerned pinch boxing is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) - a encephalon information linked to repeated blows to nan caput and concussion. CTE leads to dementia and tin only beryllium diagnosed post-mortem.

Chycki suggested 1 of nan reasons they show Usyk and do cognitive training is to thief pinch nan "prevention of encephalon injury".

But Dr Thom Wilcockson, a elder teacher of psychology astatine Loughborough University, says nan technological grounds is not beardown capable to propose cognitive training prevents CTE.

"It would adhd a robustness against fatigue induced cognitive diminution but not needfully nan semipermanent effects that CTE could cause," he said.

"It would springiness Usyk a larger cognitive reserve which mightiness thief mitigate different types of dementia for illustration Alzheimer's disease."

Usyk is simply a trailblazer successful galore ways - he was nan first man to go undisputed astatine heavyweight successful nan four-belt era - but his training methods aren't unique, resembling those of compatriot Vasiliy Lomachenko.

They employment replacement and unorthodox techniques successful nan gym.

Lomachenko showed cat-like reflexes by catching 4 coins, 1 astatine a clip successful a azygous movement, aft flicking them into nan aerial disconnected his forearm.

Usyk went 1 amended successful December 2024, performing nan instrumentality pinch some arms simultaneously.

On nan aboveground it whitethorn look for illustration a statement trick, but location is thing deeper to it.

"With boxing location is simply a very clear narration betwixt having a accelerated guidance clip and performance," Dr Wilcockson said.

"Reaction-time training is really beneficial for boxing and training of guidance clip would past refine nan decision-based reactions, alongside nan expertise to accommodate to strategies and changing situations."

Affording clip to build a beardown cognitive guidelines and amended reactions has freed up intelligence capacity for Usyk to reassign to what he does champion - download data.

Usyk is 1 of boxing's awesome problem-solvers. He often grows into a conflict arsenic his force originates to fatigue.

During some Fury fights, Usyk was down connected each 3 judges' scorecards aft information 7 but won via a decision.

"By training nan encephalon to execute cognitive tasks nether beingness exertion, Usyk is building up this resilience against degradation and ensuring he is capable to make smart decisions," Dr Wilcockson said.

But nan boxing organization is acold from unified connected nan benefits of cognitive training.

"If you made a database of imaginable contributory factors to occurrence successful boxing, you'd astir apt beryllium penning nan database for astir a week until you sewage to nan cognitive benefits," said Alan Ruddock, subordinate professor of athletics physiology and capacity astatine Sheffield Hallam.

"It's intolerable to opportunity that it is nan point that sways nan fight."

Ruddock co-founded Sheffield-based institution Boxing Science successful 2014 and has created training programmes for erstwhile world champions Kell Brook, Nicola Adams and much precocious Joshua.

Those one-to-one sessions attraction connected respective areas, including nutrition and spot and condition, but seldom do fighters get successful touch for cognitive training.

"We've ever had guidance against physiology and psychology," Ruddock added.

"It's astir apt because they create this alloy armour astir them. It's for illustration they make that psychological constituent almost impenetrable and they don't want to break it down."

Usyk, though, has embraced nan psychological broadside of nan athletics to complement nan different areas of his game.

"The reply is simple," Chycki said erstwhile asked why he believes Usyk will hit Dubois.

"He is simply a amended boxer, he has amended method skills and has a beardown mind."