Dynamo Kyiv and Ukraine's national team goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan is a long-time boxing fan. Not only does he actively watch the best fights of our time and cheer for Ukrainians. Bushchan also constantly trains in the ring and shows good results at this level. So good that he even receives praise from eminent boxing coaches.
Heorhii Bushchan. Photo: O. Vasylieva- I interviewed Yegor Golub a few years ago and he said that you could easily have an exhibition fight. You have a very well placed right hand. Would you agree with him?
- Thank you Egor for such kind words. Now I need to improve my boxing form a little bit and train steadily in the boxing gym. But yes, I would agree to this format.
- You are a professional footballer, but now we are in a boxing gym. Why are you interested in boxing and how can boxing training help you in your career?
- Boxing is a great sport, number two for me. It's a very cool sport. People from the outside may think that boxing is for some not-so-good people.
But boxing helps you think. You have a tactic for the fight, for training, and you have to think all the time, to hit combinations. It's also physical training, which helps. It's functional, so it's very useful for goalkeepers.
- Do you follow professional boxing? Who is interesting to watch?
- Yes, I follow our fighters - Oleksandr Usyk and Denys Berinchyk.
- Among the footballers, there are guys who play Counter Strike. Are there any guys you could talk to in the locker room about boxing?
- Yes, the older guys. We were just in Bucharest when Usyk fought, preparing for a match in the Conference League. There were 6 or 7 of us watching the fight, supporting Oleksandr and rejoicing in his victory.
- Goalkeepers don't run the most in football. Usyk can run an incredible amount of kilometres in the ring during a fight. How many kilometres do you run per match and do you run in your free time to keep fit?
- I run only on holiday, when I'm preparing for the training camp. Goalkeepers run an average of 5 km per game, I guess it's more accurate.
