More and more Ukrainian athletes are taking up arms in defense of their homeland as tensions between Russia and Ukraine rise.
The Klitschko brothers set an example by naming Yaroslav, the Bellator champion at welterweight and two-time Olympic gold medalist. 8 pound-for-pound boxer Vasiliy Lomachenko both declared over this past weekend that they will join Ukraine’s military.
Amosov posted a statement on Instagram in Ukrainian that stated that he took his family to a safety zone. Some people saw this as an indication that he wanted to flee his homeland during their time of greatest need. Amosov was able to clear his name and is back in Ukraine to protect his homeland.
“I have returned and will defend this country as best I can, with what I can. Our country is dear to me. Russia came to our house and started a war here, many people are dying — innocents, women and children…terrible things are happening here,” Amosov said via translation.
Amosov has a current fighting record of 26-0 (7-0 in Bellator). He defeated Douglas Lima to claim the title at welterweight via unanimous decision.
Lomachenko, like Amosov was also in another country at the time that fighting began. Lomachenko was in Greece at the time Russia invaded Ukraine. His Friday flight from Ukraine was cancelled by air traffic control, which diverted all flights to Ukraine. To be with his family, he flew into Bucharest but was unable to go through Romania.
The man was a member of a territorial defense battalion, and was photographed wearing military gear in a Facebook picture.
Mykola Kolchuk, President of WBC Ukraine, stated that “we are so proud to our boxers. Our real champions of boxing, and champions of this war.” We are proud to be Ukrainians.
Lomachenko, a former division champion and 16-2 overall with 11KOs is currently at 16.
This post was last modified on February 28, 2022 11:29 am
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