Papachenko (2020) - full transcript

I've got so many memories from this gym.

And all of them are good ones.

This is where it all started.

This is where I worked so hard.

This is where I spent many hours,

many days.

On these stairs, it was always packed.

Guys came, and everyone

changed on the stairs

because the benches had

no room for everyone.

In those two square meters,

there wasn't room for all of us.

Lots of people and everyone

changed on the stairs.

It’s all permeated not only

with Vasiliy’s sweat.

So many students passed through this

place... It all started in this basement.

There was no proper ventilation,

everyone was pouring,

you couldn't breathe,

but they kept working.

But I say it's a boxing Mecca.

I work at a school, and I tell children:

"You should know that

it's a boxing Mecca.

This is where Vasiliy and Anatoliy

worked, and their aura is still there”.

One!

Two!

Three!

Four!

Five!

Six!

Seven!

Eight!

Nine!

Ninety! It’s great!

This is where I set plenty

of my personal records.

It’s all recorded, we’ve got video.

Including the famous 250th pull-up

on this bar.

I come in and see that

Vasya is doing pull-ups.

I say, “Vasya, how many

pull-ups do you do?"

I think it was 40 or 50,

but that isn't important.

He's pulling up but

cannot go all the way,

and he says, "Dad, I can't do it!"

Anatoliy Nikolayevich says,

“No questions, get back down.

In that case, it’s not going to work.”

And Vasya is in tears

and keeps pulling up.

I thought to myself that I would

never have been able to do that.

That was his father,

but it was already evident what

path he was directing him to.

I asked him, which is better to win,

what is more prestigious:

The World Championship

or the Olympic Games?

I remember it as if it were

just a moment ago.

We were going up the stairs

from the basement.

And he explained to me that the Olympics

are held every four years

and that is the most

prestigious competition.

The Olympic champion stays

in history. It's the top.

It's the highest peak that

one can climb in sports.

And after that, I told him that

I was going to be an Olympic champion.

It was their common dream.

Back then, it seemed,

such an unrealistic one.

Because the boy who dreamed of Olympic

gold was barely acquainted with boxing.

And his father was a claimant

of a Master of Sports title,

a children sports trainer from

a small town of Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy.

This is Lomachenko's home town.

From here Anatoliy Nikolayevich

went to do

his military service

where he started boxing.

This is where he returned

to after he got married

and graduated from

the Institute of Pedagogy.

He became a father: first, his son

was born, then the daughter.

He taught physical culture at a school.

Also, he held an extracurricular

boxing class at the school gym,

which Vasiliy attended as well.

Soon enough, the trainer and the young

boxers moved from the school basement

to much more convenient premises -

the gym of the Akkerman boxing club.

This name became world-famous

due to the Lomachenko father

and his son.

They progressed together

and grew in sync.

One - as a boxer,

the other - as a trainer.

Their tandem soon became

well-known in Ukraine.

And after that ― in the world.

Because Lomachenko won

against each and every one.

As an amateur, he held around

four hundred fights

and accepted defeat only once!

Vasiliy is referred to as

one of the strongest

and most technical fighters

in the history of boxing.

He won European and

world championships.

He even exceeded his old dream

by winning the Olympic gold twice.

Together they went

into professional boxing.

In this status, Vasiliy keeps conquering

the champion's belts

and setting new records.

He is recognized as the best

professional boxer in the world.

And Anatoliy Nikolayevich -

as the best trainer.

So, now two people with

the Lomachenko name

are written into the history of boxing,

both amateur and professional.

Keep going, keep going!

Like that, stretch it! Just like that!

Good job!

Do it! Pull!

Stomach! Stomach!

Stomach!

No sleeping, no sleeping!

Stretch it!

Arena: Vasya! Vasya!

Another victory and another record.

Another ovation from the filled

to the brink boxing arena -

one of the largest in the world.

A transition to pro turned into a fiasco

for many a distinguished amateur boxer...

but the Lomachenko pair continued to

dominate completely in the new status.

Whoa!

Vasiliy boxed for all the age groups

in the Ukrainian national team...

Vasya, the one in the front!

And his father was with him in

all the camps and all the fights.

Usually, next to the head trainer

of the team.

Watch it!

Like that, good! Turn him around!

Three! Three hits!

- Hit!

- Stretch! Stretch!

Just like that, good!

Lomachenko has never been

a head trainer of a national team.

Perhaps, if he'd wished to, he might

have been the head of the head team.

He worked not only with his son

but with several other boxers,

who were drawn to him by the force

of Vasiliy's achievements.

The victory goes

to Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukraine!

In clubs and in gyms, when people

talked about fighters who show

extraordinary results for their age, you

could hear, "Lom, Lom, Lomachenko.”

Where is he from?

Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy.

Who is training him?

His dad is his trainer.

No doubt, Vasya is the engine

of this whole team.

I doubt that Vasya

looked up to any of us.

We were all probably looking up to him.

Because they train through

some inhuman workload.

At that moment, it seemed to be

something from the fantastic realm.

But when you see that someone

is capable of doing that,

you yourself find motivation.

You push yourself.

Maybe none of us could do what

Vasya did. But, at least, we tried.

And we’ve all improved our results.

Everything happened exclusively

in an autonomous mode.

“You’re big guys. Do you want gold?

Then you'll need to work hard!”

If you’re wishy-washy - then you

might work or you might not,

and that’s what you

get in the end.

Everyone worked extra hard -

we swam and ran.

Vasiliy and I ran 42 kilometers.

Olexandr Gvozdyk came to our

camp in Koncha-Zaspa and ran

42 kilometers on his own. Anatoliy

Nikolayevich drove by him in a car.

As a professional, Vasiliy does

not train in a team anymore.

He prepares for every fight by

an individually-tailored curriculum.

But other boxers always

work by his side.

Some ― regularly, some ― sporadically.

Anatoliy Lomachenko never

denies help to any of them.

Working with other boxers,

Anatoliy Nikolayevich structures

the class in away

that not only promotes

their physical fitness

but always includes

a competitive element.

Head and knees!

Sanya is a live wire.

Lets go, Alex!

Last round!

I think he's a leader

from the inside out.

And he's not a person of two minds.

He might not say something outright.

But I think he's a single-minded person.

He can persuade you.

He can get the message across

in a way that leaves no doubt.

I feel great respect toward him.

Because he took me and

turned me around as a boxer.

Sometimes I don’t entirely agree

with what Anatoliy Nikolayevich says.

But later it often turns out

that I really had to do

exactly what he’d said.

He’d say: “Hit the right

punch from the bottom."

And you think that this punch won't

pass, it won't come through.

But if he says so,

it will go right through.

That's the way it is. That's what

happens when you trust a person.

And considering his results with Vasya,

and what he achieved with our

other teams, with our WSB team,

there are all the right

reasons to trust him.

After the Olympics,

Anatoliy Nikolayevich gave an interview.

He was asked somewhere

at the airport, and he replied,

“If the trainer says you need

to hit your head against the wall,

you must hit your head

against the wall!”

And that phrase made the headlines.

At first, you don’t get it.

What kind of trainer is it that tells you

to beat your head against the wall?

It seems anti-pedagogical. But in

reality, the meaning is different.

If I ask you to do something

potentially risky,

and we agreed that you trust me,

that's what you must do.

That’s what it looked like.

You need to do 70 pull-ups today.

So, you do them until you hit 50-55,

you’re so tired you can’t go on.

You can’t go on ― okay, then stop.

He'd never say he's tired. We might

complain, and I tell him about it,

he'd say, "Yeah, that happens."

But he'd never say, "Oh, poor you."

That was the way he was

brought up - nobody pitied him.

And he doesn’t pity anyone.

You want it ― do it.

You don’t want it ― don’t do it.

That’s your right.

He says, “If you don’t want to do it,

you don’t have to. You can skip it.”

Skip it? Yes, based on

how you’re feeling.

I don’t know how it happens. But

there hasn’t been a single time

that I gave up after I said

I couldn't do it anymore.

He says, "There is no 'cannot, '

only 'don't want to.'"

- That's it.

- All done?

Give me three more passes.

"There is no such thing as ‘I can't.'

There's only ‘I don't want to.'

If you want to, you can do

anything at all times."

That is how Lomachenko Sr.

Brought up his son.

Vasiliy named his son

after his father. Anatoliy.

And Tolik also learns Grandpa's

lessons from the earliest childhood.

Get up! Well done. Two!

Come on, come on. Whoa, three!

Come on! Five!

Come on!

Six!

Great job! That’s it?

Oh, you can do more? Come on!

Seven! Well done!

Whoa! Eight!

Can you do one more time?

Just the last one, the final one.

Na, he didn’t... he did! Wonderful!

Can you do one more? Just one?

Come on, just one and you’re free.

Do it!

Great job!

Lomachenko, the trainer, taught Vasiliy

from the early days to be the winner.

The father taught his son

to be human. Always.

Victories are great.

But they are not primary.

If I was guilty of something...

The first time he warned me:

"I'm not going to raise my hand on you.

I'm not going to beat you with a belt.

But for every wrongdoing,

you will learn a poem by heart.

Any one you want.

Take any book, open it,

choose a page, a poem,

and learn it. Get it?”

I said, yes, I get it.

But in just a few days

I had to face the music.

I used a bad word somewhere. Either he

heard it himself, or someone told him.

“Come here! We agreed?”

Agreed.

“It happened?” It happened.

“Choose your poem!”

I chose Alexander Pushkin’s poem

and started drilling it.

The boys came all day long and

asked me whether I was going out.

I said, sorry guys, I can’t,

I need to learn a poem.

A father and a trainer. But also -

a teacher and a mentor.

Anatoliy Lomachenko did not

only teach Vasiliy boxing.

As well as sporting experience,

he also passed his life

experience to his son.

He has always done it as tactfully

as when talking on sports topics.

He never demanded but advised.

He was never stubborn but persuasive -

since he always said the right things.

More than a boxer -

even an Olympic champion -

Anatoliy wanted to bring his son up

to be a real man and a decent person.

The Black Sea is twenty

kilometers from home.

And the Dniester estuary is even nearby.

These are the beaches where

Anatoliy Lomachenko

would bring Vasily in his childhood

not to swim and sunbathe however.

But work hard, training in the sand.

So look, you need to make two passes

about thirty seconds each.

Temp - just above average.

Not rushing, but going smoothly.

Proper wide steps, got it?

Those umbrellas over there, by

the fence ― that’s where you start.

Gesture when you’re ready.

I will gesture back at you.

Then you start and I keep the time.

So let’s get this rolling...

And how will I understand

when it’s been 30 already?

I’m telling you it’s gonna be

roughly that.

Hey, it was a joke! Hey!

What gives? Come on, stop.

Let’s do this!

Stand on your palms, then try

to switch to the fists.

Keep your weight on one hand

while you switch with the other.

Come on. Try it.

- Yup. Feeling all right?

- Yeah!

Stand on your fingers.

Now on your fists again.

Push-up.

Back on your fingers.

Give me ten.

- Do two passes like this.

- Two?

Just mind this: first you switch

between fingers and fists five times.

You do one pushup on your fists,

then one on your fingers.

- One more.

- I did two!

- You made the switch.

- I did ten push-ups!

- One on your fingers, one on your fists.

- And so you repeat ten times.

You’re doing it wrong.

You need to throw it first, so he runs,

and then you start, otherwise he...

That’s the best way

to do it, you see why?

Here it comes!

Making a pass!

Fire in the hole!

There you go, there you go!

Good!

- Score? Three-Three?

- Four-Four.

- Out!

- No!

Anatoliy Lomachenko taught

not only boxing to his son.

Wrestling, rowing, acrobatics, tennis,

athletic marathon, swimming

across the estuary.

Also, team sports: hockey,

basketball, volleyball.

Even before Vasiliy

became a champion,

his father turned him

into a real athlete.

They both feel confident

on most sportive grounds.

And Anatoliy organizes and is an active

participant of every competition

that Lomachenkos regularly hold

among their team and friends.

That only confirms that

another person would say,

“Why are you telling me this?

Can you do it on your own?”

He can do everything on his own.

Good!

He plays with us. He does

everything better, for sure.

When we boxed as amateurs,

he trained every day with us.

He went for runs.

- I thought that the way he played tennis.

- He could have won against Nadal.

Tennis for sure.

As a rule, Lomachenkos

play against each other.

For Vasiliy, it's a real competition

because he strives to win at everything.

But Anatoliy Nikolayevich

trains even as he plays.

In most games that we play,

be it volleyball or tennis,

he sometimes goes easy on us.

When Vasya notices that,

he gets nervous, starts yelling,

and does the same.

But that's the way Anatoliy Nikolayevich

maintains the microclimate in the team.

When he sees that it’s unnecessary,

he, on the contrary,

plays in a way that keeps you

on your toes even more.

Out!

It is 0-7!

Well done! Look what he's doing!

- Six - Three!

- Five - Four!

We may be losing by five points, and

he’s adding those points to our score!

I ask Anatoliy Nikolayevich,

how did that happen?

Aren’t we five points down?

He says I’ve counted wrong

and we’re five points up.

So, at some point,

Andrey Borisovich suggested that I just

play without keeping count of the score.

And I decided to play that way, and then

he tells us the score. Agree? Agree.

Good job!

Well done!

Five-Four.

Thought you weren’t gonna do it.

- Everyone is waiting for you!

- It’s time?

- Yes. Been time for a while, son.

- Let’s go!

- No sleeping on the job!

- Yeah!

No sleeping!

Enough!

- Didn’t see that one coming?

- Nope.

We haven’t been over

that during trainings.

I’ve been saving that up

for the camera.

Dad, get it together!

That’s not what we agreed on!

Good job tying these.

- Who tied them?

- You hit so hard the gloves are breaking.

I’ll show you later how Mayweather

works with the boxing pads.

In a pro category, Lomachenkos set

the most ambitious goals at the outset -

and set out to achieve them at once.

Titles, earnings, and fame -

these are important, of course.

But their main desire and impetus

is to write their name

into the history of professional boxing.

Come on, Dad!

Vasiliy became World Champion

in his third fight.

In the seventh fight, he established

a record in the number of fights

it took him to earn the titles

from two different categories.

He defended the champion's title

by destroying his opponents.

Four elite boxers in

a row admitted defeat

prematurely in their

matches with Vasiliy.

He received a nickname "No Mas."

In Spanish, this means

"enough," "no more."

Soon enough, Vasiliy won a title

in the next weight category

and set another record.

It only took him twelve fights to become

a champion in three different categories.

Two Lomachenkos: a father and a son.

Now both of them are famous.

And, it seems, are equally popular.

Lomachenko’ fans: Loma! Loma!

- Lomachenko’ fans: Dyadya Tolya!

- Dyadya Tolya!!

Lomachenko’ fans: Dyadya Tolya!

Dyadya Tolya!

A pro boxer must have a nickname.

Vasiliy transferred to pro with

the one he had as an amateur.

"High-tech."

Figuratively, a boxer

who is ahead of his time.

A new nickname was even

more ambitious in meaning.

"Matrix." A hint that its holder

fights on a fantastical level!

This is how Vasiliy

is called by journalists

when they describe his technique,

speed, or another victory.

"No Mas." This nickname

stuck to Vasiliy

after four boxers in a row

gave up in a fight with him.

But it did not become primary.

Who would like to be called "enough"?

There were other options,

but in the end,

Vasiliy decided to stick to the one

his supporters gave him.

To the word that the arena

chants during the fight.

Laconic, loud, and severe,

and now also recognizable

across the globe. LOMA.

Camera Papachenko!

Okay, Team Loma, let's go!

The transformation of the last name

gave a nickname to Anatoliy

Nikolayevich as well.

In the end ― five dropped letters

from the son's name.

And it begins with a word

that is so important to Vasiliy.

It turned out soulful and so precise.

PAPA-CHENKO.

I told them to give me that one.

Let's hang it here.

No, we’ll put it over there, because

that’s what I usually work with.

- All right, put the big one over there.

- Yes, sure.

Vasliliy's professional career

is developing in a way

that both he and his father have to

spend more and more time in the USA.

And the issue with the training

conditions has arisen.

At first, Lomachenkos went

to a common boxing gym.

They spent a couple of hours

every day commuting,

remembering the Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy

Akkerman.

And then ― they recreated

their native gym.

It is virtually identical,

just a little smaller.

A small Akkerman.

- Maybe higher?

- Let’s see. They’re gonna let go now.

- Higher?

- Nah, I think that’s enough.

That’s enough.

But they are still more comfortable

in the real Akkerman.

Lomachenkos set up the gym

with special feelings.

This is the place where they prepared

to most of their victories...

Okay, observe!

And this is where they lived through

the hardest times of their work together.

- Maybe the other way around?

- The big carbiner goes on top.

- Am I on time?

- Just on time!

So I felt. Here I come.

- Maybe even higher?

- Dunno, I think it’s enough.

- Let’s do one link higher.

- One link higher.

Let’s go. Put it down?

Nah, it’s okay. We’ll hold it,

easier that way.

I’m holding it, you’re holding onto it.

- I’m assisting.

- So I see.

Now we’re talking! Now it’s my height.

Whole two centimeters,

a world of difference!

Thanks, Alex!

At the beginning of his

professional career,

there was an episode when Vasya said,

he thought something

was unnecessary to do.

And in the end, the trainer agreed.

If you consider that unnecessary,

do what you feel is right.

The camp is almost done.

Everyone's at the end of the rope.

No nerves, no strength left, all that.

Vasiliy Anatolievich is

a temperamental person.

Sometimes he says

something to his father.

Anatoliy Nikolayevich

always responds calmly,

"You don't want it, don't do it.

If you know all that you need to do."

Yes, I won't do it! -

Says Vasiliy and leaves.

I say, “Vasiliy, what’s up with you, it

was all well. Why don’t you just do it?”

He says, have you done it? You go do it!

I say, I did it, and you should do it,

maybe later.

He says, I won’t do it!

Vasiliy Anatolievich, as usual,

yelled a bit, grumbled a bit.

It seemed to me that

I knew more than he did.

And we started having

confrontations on that ground.

He tells me to do something,

and I think otherwise.

He says, “No question, you know

everything, you train yourself.”

That’s it. And when I started training

myself, I realized that I knew nothing.

Neither how to train, nor how to reach

the peak of my fitness form.

Until the moment when everything

went back to normal,

it was your responsibility,

I will do what I’ve planned.

It took some time.

That time wasn’t wasted,

but a constructive conflict took place.

Since that time, I cannot remember

any serious issues.

There are everyday incidents,

but we only laugh at them.

As a rule, Lomachenko's

preparation for the fight

lasts for the standard three

months, which are divided

into two equal parts of

physical training and sparrings.

But sometimes, Anatoliy Nikolayevich

makes changes to the schedule.

For instance, if the date of

the match has been moved.

In contents, his camp is always

different from what other boxers do.

The spars, for example, can

last for up to fifteen rounds.

Who knows if Vasiliy works longer

or harder than other boxers.

But he surely works in a particular way.

Physically exhausted.

Mentally emptied out.

During the training camp, Vasiliy works

on the edge of human capacity.

Possibly, even beyond the edge.

He happens to be irritated.

But he and his father are

the closest people in the world.

In the end, they always agree,

and the workouts continue

according to the plan

of Lomachenko Senior.

There are moments sometimes

when we analyze:

what’s going to happen when

Vasya has to do this?

We know how he treats new routines,

so we know what we can come up against.

Anatoliy Nikolayevich

tells Vasiliy to do something.

And Vasiliy keeps walking

around the gym,

telling a story or something like that.

So, he says to me, "Look, now

he's going to grumble for a while,

and then he's going to

come back and do it."

Again, there are nuances.

Then when he's done it, he turns

and says, "Happy now? I did it."

He replies, "Yes, I'm happy.

You're free to go now."

We sometimes predict

his reaction very precisely.

How he’s going to react, and we laugh.

Then, when we say it to him,

he says exactly the same.

And we’re like ― ha, ha!

And he’s like ― what’s up with you?

I ask him, why are you grumbling?

He says, well, I just grumble.

We just joke about it among ourselves.

But Vasiliy Anatolievich

is the way he is.

If he were different, he wouldn’t be the

Lomachenko that everyone knows so well.

After the workout, Vasiliy

goes to get some rest.

But Anatoliy Nikolayevich

continues to work.

He would make corrections into

the training schedule, if necessary.

Analyze the video. And definitely

come up with something new.

Vasiliy's father does not

work in boxing.

He lives boxing.

He teaches and learns.

He improves his athlete

and improves as a trainer.

Their tandem is a tandem of

two outstanding professionals.

And when Vasiliy goes

to get some relaxation,

Anatoliy Nikolayevich will analyze

the video of the latest workout.

Because he is the one who determines

what Vasiliy is going

to do the next day.

If the trainer says that something

has to be done in a certain way,

for example, you have to

run fast, and then slowly,

then slowly again, and then fast again.

Or, for instance, at five o'clock

in the morning,

you need to do fast training, not slow.

Or, you don’t get up at five,

but at six or seven.

Or, after one training session,

you have to do another one.

Or, instead of a two-hour session,

you need a three-hour one. And so on.

If the trainer says so,

this is what you must do,

this is the direction you must take.

The trust of Anatoliy Nikolayevich

to his trainee

and his son is the condition

upon which he can step

outside the boundary of

his previous experience.

Yes, it’s hard. You don’t know

how it’s going to turn out.

But if you trust me ― we’ll get there.

One step outside

the existing experience.

And that is how it goes -

every day, every hour, every minute...

One step beyond the boundary.

This is possible only on the condition

of total trust between

the trainer and the trainee.

Between the father and the son.

The space beyond the limit -

is where both Lomachenkos step together.

In professional boxing, there are

victories obtained outside the ring ―

but worth as much as

the titles and records.

Annually, the Boxing Writers

Association of America

determines the best of the best.

These are so-called Boxing Oscars,

which Lomachenko team members

now regularly receive.

For Vasiliy, getting various

awards is a usual thing.

But his father, who received the title of

the World's Best Trainer twice in a row,

felt ill at ease at the awards ceremony.

Great thanks to everyone for

acknowledging this achievement.

But first of all, I’d like to express my

gratitude to all the professional team

that works toward a common goal.

It’s our promoter Bob Arum,

the manager Egis Klimas,

our physical fitness trainer Cecilio,

the cutman Russ,

the psychologist Andrey Borisovich...

And of course, the talent, that shouldn’t

be impeded from realizing itself.

It doesn’t need to be helped,

just not impeded.

On the other hand, they say,

“The sportsman is the one who wins,

the trainer is the one who loses.”

So, in this case, what do we do?

The trainer stands aside,

and the sportsman wins.

So, thank you for winning!

I can say he's the best trainer

in the world!

And, of course, I'd like to believe

that it's the truth.

It isn't some kind of WOW for him,

"I'm the best trainer in the world!

And I got some award or other."

The fewer people talk about him,

the less they mention him,

the better he likes it.

He doesn’t worry about that.

He doesn't think about it at all.

He isn't vain, unlike me,

he doesn't need it.

He knows his worth, and he

doesn't care who says what.

Recognition or no recognition, all

the regalia do not bother him at all.

And he surely doesn't chase them,

unlike me.

He doesn’t like that.

But I will keep talking about it

because he’s done so much good,

and I will talk about it.

He may not talk about it, but I will.

Olexandr Usyk!

It was Anatoliy Nikolayevich

who accompanied Usyk

on his first fight as a pro.

He wanted to keep

working with Olexandr

but couldn't train him full-time

and on a regular basis.

Lomachenko focused on

working with his son.

Vasiliy and Olexandr often prepared

for their respective fights

simultaneously on different

points of the planet.

Usyk was, for a long time,

both successful and comfortable

working with his American trainer.

But Lomachenko was still

an unofficial mentor,

and the principal authority to him -

Anatoliy Nikolayevich stayed

in Olexandr's team,

always helped with timely advice...

and always rooted for Usyk

as if he were his own son.

Both Vasiliy and his father were

one step away from the ring

during Olexandr's first

championship match.

Three, Alex!

Circle around! From the right!

Left, then punish him!

Sock him from the right, come on!

Right-Left-Right! Three! Three!

Come on, come on!

In the autumn of 2016,

Usyk became World Champion.

After that, he has successfully

defended his title.

The opposition was growing stronger,

while the trainer situation -

if not exactly worse, then definitely

more complicated and confusing.

In the first three matches

after the title fight,

three different mentors

stood in Olexandrs' corner.

He kept looking for

the best one for himself.

Even knowing that it was useless.

An American trainer was replaced by

another American, then a Ukrainian one.

But not with the last name

that Usyk dreamed of.

Anatoliy Lomachenko still

attended Olexandr's fights

and supported him morally

and by giving advice.

While the boxer kept searching

for the best mentor,

knowing that he was very close

to the right one.

In the meantime, there was

a new challenge in store for Usyk,

the biggest in his career.

In case of his winning the world

boxing super series,

he would have become

the absolute world champion.

He had three matches to win. But all

the opponents were exclusively elite.

Usyk went into the final fight, but

the semi-final was extremely tough.

The experts said - specifically because

of the trainer. The clock was ticking.

The boxer realized that things

had to change - immediately.

He wanted to be trained by Lomachenko.

And he knew the other one

wouldn't mind anymore.

When Usyk voiced his request,

the trainer was ready for it.

It happened at Istanbul airport.

By that moment, when he only opened

his mouth when the offer was voiced,

We knew when and where we were going

and had already planned out our work.

The only thing - did he talk with you?

No. Neither did he talk with me.

And after that happened,

we agreed to meet in a week.

When I came to see him

in Belgorod-Dnestrovskiy,

he was very precise as for the place

where we would train.

Said that we needed a fully

private training base.

We prepared there in

a completely private mode.

The self-dedication

mode is tough to get used to.

Because you keep adding on, you keep

doing what you've never done before.

Why does one need to do that?

If you don't push your nervous

system to adapt to more,

you aren't allowing yourself

to go beyond the limit.

Your unconscious won't let you go there,

it will say "no."

By pushing that limit,

you get permission -

we're going to go this far, we're

going to push a little further.

The first month of the training

session was extremely hard.

He had a hard time coping.

It was extreme.

It was very much

like what Vasya does now.

And it’s different from what

we did on the amateur level.

I saw what Sanya did.

It was hell, that’s how I’d put it.

Luckily, Sanya has a special quality.

Even if he's "dying,"

quote-unquote, at work,

he accepts it personally - as a challenge.

There were situations when we said to

Sanya - that’s it, let’s do it tomorrow.

And we always ended up finishing

that “tomorrow” assignment

at three o’clock in the morning.

At three in the morning!

At two or three in the morning,

I wake up

and go downstairs from the second floor.

I’m surprised to see

Anatoliy Nikolayevich

and Andrey Borisovich sitting

there playing backgammon.

He asks me, "Can't sleep?" I say,

"No, just going to the toilet."

"Go sleep," he tells me.

I went to the loo, drank some water,

and went back to sleep.

In the morning, I started

asking questions:

I went downstairs at night,

and you guys weren't sleeping?

He says, "Did you really?"

I have no idea why they weren't sleeping

at that time, playing backgammon.

Moscow was chosen as the place

for the final match -

even though Usyk's opponent was Russian.

He attended all the media

events with his mentor -

one of the most recognized trainers

in the world, Abel Sanchez.

Who was going to stand

in Olexandr's corner? -

It was a well-kept secret

until the very fight.

Before the fight, Usyk's

changing room was packed.

But Sanchez still managed to see his personal

rival in that fight among the crowd.

In the room's corner

modestly stood a man

whose name had already been

written into the history of boxing.

…still undefeated

and now the undisputed

cruiserweight champion of the world.

Olexandr Usyk!

He lives by the right values.

He lives by the orthodox faith.

He, in principle, keeps all

the basic commandments.

Maybe that’s why he became

more deeply religious with age.

His faith has become so strong

that it might be the reason

he stopped giving interviews.

Yes, he’s a believer.

And, in his faith, he’s directly

connected to God.

God cares most for what good things

you’ve done to people.

That’s why I think he’s directly

connected to Him.

Without taking into account of fights

the emotions of Anatoly Lomachenko

can be very rarely seeing.

And when they do appear on his face,

they are extremely positive.

A smile or laughing.

Even tears you’ve seen

appeared in his eyes

are of joy or fascination.

When Vasiliy had his birthday,

thirty years old,

he took the floor, and halted a little,

made a pause...

It was a charged silence.

If we didn’t know its contents

exactly, we could all feel it.

For thirty years, I have been

preparing for this.

God bless you, son.

I didn’t see the tears.

But the pause, I think, was because

he choked up with them.

But he, as always, stopped

at exactly the right moment.

Made a pause, then finished

and went back to his table.

Where are we here, Said?

We are at Staples Center, Los Angeles.

This is the locker room of the best

fighter of the world Mr.Lomachenko.

And we have a chance to have

Mr.Philipp Plein as the guest.

Thank you, guys. I so happy to be here.

Look at this crocodile. Amazing.

This is a unique piece.

Only made for the Champ.

And that’s Mr. Papachenko.

The secret of all secrets.

He hate to be filmed.

No photo, no camera, no video.

But he is Champ of the Champs.

This is the man!

This is the man! Right here!

OK, good luck!

Let's go, champ!

Arena: Loma! Loma!

I think, it seems to me,

that his dream has come true.

He has a family, he has a home,

he has what he's always been talking

about - an Olympic champion.

I don't know. That what it looks

like to me, that's my external view.

What are his dreams now?

It's hard to say. I don't really know.

Anatoliy shares his dreams neither

with his son nor with anyone else.

He does not give interviews - a modest

man who does not enjoy too much attention.

He simply does his work -

every single day.

He is the best trainer on the planet.

But if he had ever dreamed of it,

it was at the bottom of his list.

It seems he only dreams

of helping others

become better versions of themselves.

Of making everyone around happy.