Usyk to star in a Hollywood film
23 May 2024 11:41
World heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk has been cast in the American biographical drama Smashing Machine. This was reported by IMDB, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The film will focus on the life of former UFC fighter Mark Kerr, who will be played by famous actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Usyk will play the Ukrainian MMA legend Igor Vovchanchyn, who fought Kerr twice during his career.
It is known that in the first fight, the Ukrainian won by knockout, but the result of the fight was later cancelled by the judges. The reason: Vovchanchyn’s punches were prohibited. The fight was declared a nullity. In the second fight, Vovchanchyn won by a decision of the judges. These fights took place in 1999 and 2000.
The film also stars Emily Blunt, Lindsay Gavin, and Ryan Bader. The film was written and directed by American Ben Safdie.
The premiere is scheduled for 2025.
It should be noted that on the night of 19 May, Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) won the title of absolute world heavyweight champion in a fight against British boxer Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs ). Usyk defeated Fury by split decision: Usyk 115-112, Fury 114-113, Usyk 114-113.
Before this fight, both boxers were undefeated at the professional level. The Ukrainian boxer had won every single one of his 21 professional fights, and now he has won every single one of his 22 fights. Meanwhile, Tyson Fury has won 34 of his 36 fights.
After the fight, the Briton announced a rematch against the Ukrainian in October 2024. Usyk agreed to it.
