Oleksandr Usyk WINS professional football debut, but misses glorious chance

Boxing's WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion of the world came on as a substitute for the Ukrainian second-division team in their winter break friendly in Turkey.

Usyk began the game on the bench, but was clearly the centre of attention as broadcast cameras often panned to him during the first half.

In the 76th minute, his moment came.

Usyk shadowboxed on the touchline to warm up, and then entered the fray as a striker wearing number 17.

Within ten seconds of play restarting after his arrival, the heavyweight champion missed a fantastic chance to score.

A teammate cut back to him on the right hand side of the penalty area, but Usyk could only swing a leg at it, missing the ball entirely.

Aside from this, the 35-year-old put in a solid showing.

In the 84th minute, Usyk successfully headed the ball to a teammate and he then played a part in a nice one-two just two minutes later.

His main highlight came in added time though, as the ball broke to him on the edge of the box following an opposition corner and he drove forwards on a daring run.

Understandably, none of the Veres players were keen to tackle him.

He made it to the half-way line and played it to a teammate who was then fouled.

When the final whistle blew, the score was still the same as it was when Usyk came on - a 2-1 win for Polissya.

Usyk now looks set to rematch Anthony Joshua in his next fight, most likely in May.

Talks had been taking place about a potential deal for him to face Tyson Fury in an undisputed title clash, with Joshua being paid millions to step aside.

However, these negotiations collapsed and so it's expected that Usyk vs AJ 2 will come next.