It's a fight that has been years in the making and it's now finally time for Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to get head-to-head in the boxing ring.
The two fighters will vie for all four major heavyweight belts in the highly-anticipated face-off, which will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday. The fight will determine the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 and the first champion of the four-belt era.
There has been plenty of drama already in the build-up to the rescheduled fight - which was originally due to go ahead in February before Fury pulled out injured.
READ MORE: How can you watch Fury vs Usyk? Live coverage, start time and illegal stream warning
But while the Gypsy King has for some time been one of the biggest characters in British, if not world sport, his opponent was a relative unknown in Britain just a few years ago.
Since then, he has twice toppled Anthony Joshua as well as British fighter Daniel Dubois. But now he stands on the verge of greatness as he takes on Fury in what has been billed as one of the biggest fights in boxing history.
Here's everything you need to know about the Ukrainian star.
Watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
Watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk live on May 18
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns in a huge clash this month with each fighter attempting to etch their names in boxing history as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999. The stakes couldn't be higher as the pair will go head to head for the prestigious WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF titles.
£24.99
Oleksandr Usyk net worth
Before his first fight with then-world champion Joshua three years ago, Usyk was believed to have a net worth of around £4 million.
However, after defeating the British fighter and with his global profile soaring, the Ukrainian is estimated to have a net worth of around £45 million, according to talkSPORT.
While the total purse for Saturday's bout with Fury will not be known until after the fight, it is believed to be in the region of around $150 million (£116 million), according to The Independent.
An agreement was also struck last year that the purse would be split 70/30 in Fury's favour, with Usyk accepting the minority share on the condition that the British fighter donates £1 million of his earnings to Ukraine.
If the reported purse is correct, the fight contract means that Fury stands to earn around $105 million (£82.9 million) this weekend, while Usyk will earn roughly $45 million (£35.4 million).
Family tragedy
Usyk will go into Saturday's fight partly motivated by the tragedy he has carried with him in recent years.
The Ukrainian is haunted by not being able to say a final goodbye to his father as he couldn't get back to his homeland in time after winning gold at the London Olympics. His dad had watched him become a national hero by becoming Olympic champion but died just days later.
"He watched me become Olympic champion, but I didn't make it back in time to show him the gold medal," he recalled. "When I arrived he was already lying in the coffin. I handed him the medal, put it in his dead hand and then left the room.
"Three more days and I would have been leaving but I was waiting for a supercar to arrive. I wanted to bring it with me and show him what a cool car I had. My mother called me at 3am and told me."
"Sometimes [my dad] comes to me the day before the fight," he added. "Sometimes he comes the day before the fight and smiles."
Usyk followed in the footsteps of his soldier father as he joined Ukraine’s territorial defence battalion after Russia launched an all-out invasion of the country in 2022. The boxer was ultimately urged by his fellow soldiers to leave and represent his nation in the ring, but he still witnessed death and destruction during his time on the frontline.
He is funding the rebuilding of a property where his boxer friend Oleksiy Dzhunkivskyi was shot. “In this house, there was a boxing gym of my good friend," he explained. "He and I were in the national team, we went to boxing competitions together. Oleksiy Dzhunkivskyi was shot by Russian soldiers right in this hall.”
Wife's sacrifice
Usyk has been married to his wife Yekaterina, known as Katerina, for 15 years.
The 36-year-old model is a popular figure among Ukrainians but is not overly active on social media and keeps her family life largely private. She has four children - sons Kyrylo and Mykhalio and daughters Yelizaveta and newborn Maria - with Usyk and has proven herself as the boxer's biggest fan, always at ringside to cheer him on.
She has even scarified 'family time' in order for Usyk to reach the top of the sport, giving the heavyweight her blessing to miss Maria's birth ahead of the fight with Fury.
Recalling finding out that his scheduled bout with the British fighter in February was off, Usyk said: "Even my wife found out first because I was training. After sparring I was in the ring and information started to come through and I had a lot of messages on my phone.
"But my wife was not angry that I had missed the birth. It's my job and she is very smart. I am at my training camp and my wife says, 'No problem, you have to work, Alex'."
How to watch Fury v Usyk
Fury v Usyk is being shown live on DAZN, TNT Sports Box Office and Sky Sports Box Office.
It will be pay-per-view on each platform and will cost approximately the same on each channel.
The PPV prices are as follows:
- DAZN - £24.99 or £23.99 for existing customers. You can sign up here.
- Sky Sports - £24.95
- TNT Sports - £24.99 (you don't need a TNT subscription). You can sign to TNT Sports here.
