Oleksandr Usyk says his father "was a big motivation" for him in his career, and supported him throughout his career.
Usyk's father passed away just days after watching Usyk win gold at the 2012 Olympics in London.
In the 12 years since winning gold, Usyk has gone on to become a unified cruiserweight world champion, and now he is one fight away from the same feat at heavyweight.
Usyk and Tyson Fury are set for one of the biggest heavyweight fights in history, as the two undefeated fighters go head-to-head in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The pair come together on Saturday night on DAZN PPV, with the winner declared the first-ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Speaking to DAZN ahead of the fight, Usyk praised his dad's influence on his career.
"In my first Olympic Games in Beijing, I lost my second fight to the Italian guy, Clemente Russo," said Usyk.
"For the second Olympics, I changed my life. Training, family, training, rest, family.
"Next Olympic Games, I win! It was great. I remember when my father called me to say, ‘Congratulations son, I love you’.
"It was a big motivation for me when my father said, ‘I love you’.
"He was a man who would say, ‘Son, you can’. It’s hard now, I remember my father."
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