WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, following his victory over Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, addressed fans, stating that "only the dead haven't said that Akela has missed." Usyk made this statement on Instagram, reports UNN.
"I've returned to my family. Everything is great, all glory to God. Once again, I want to thank the Ukrainian people for their support. I see all your messages, all your support, inspiration, and struggle. Glory to God for everything. Glory to Ukraine. Only the dead haven't said that Akela has missed. Akela continues to hold his rock, everything is wonderful. There is a victory, and that is the most important thing. Sometimes it isn't as pretty as some would like, but it exists,"
He thanked English-speaking fans for their support, for supporting Ukraine and his team.
"To all those who don't believe in what they can do, believe me — you can. And pay no attention when they tell you that you can't. You are incredible. I continue to stay on the bright side. The journey continues. The light shines even brighter than it did before. And everything is incredibly wonderful. Peace,"
Context
The quote "Akela has missed" is from Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" regarding the old wolf Akela; the phrase was picked up by others at the instigation of Tabaqui the jackal to overthrow the leader after his very first mistake during a hunt.
Akela was the wise and strong leader of the Seeonee wolf pack, who had known no defeat for years. However, during one hunt for a wild buffalo, he missed and was unable to catch the prey.
This miss was immediately exploited by Shere Khan the tiger and his sycophant, Tabaqui the jackal. They incited the young wolves against the leader, and Tabaqui gloatingly shouted: "Akela has missed." According to the Law of the Jungle, a leader who missed had to step down or die in combat.
Background
On May 24, Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk secured a victory over Dutchman Rico Verhoeven in a bout in Egypt. The fight ended prematurely at the end of the 11th round.
The majority of fans and experts pointed out that Usyk was completely losing the fight, and the referee should have allowed the match to continue.
According to the boxing scorecards, the Usyk-Verhoeven fight was even for two out of the three judges. Oliver Palomo and Fabian Guggenheim recorded a score of 95:95 at the moment the fight was stopped. However, Pasquale Procopio gave a minimal advantage to the Dutchman (95:94).
Furthermore, after the fight, it became known that Usyk's trainer Yuriy Tkachenko and manager Egis Klimas had left the boxer's team, as reported by Usyk's former promoter Oleksandr Krassyuk.
Krassyuk explained that Tkachenko and Klimas left the boxer's team because Usyk had surrounded himself with "people who agree with him on everything and tell him he is the best."