Ukrainian light-heavyweight Daniel Lapin will take centre stage on Saturday's undercard at Wembley, where he faces Lewis Edmondson ahead of Oleksandr Usyk's undisputed heavyweight title bout against Daniel Dubois. Lapin, a trusted member of Usyk's camp, has overcome two major disruptions caused by Russian aggression to reach this point.
Born in Poland but raised in Simferopol, Crimea, Lapin saw his promising amateur career effectively ended when Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014. At 16, he was hoping to compete at the Youth Olympic Games and European Championships, but the occupation left him isolated. 'Russia destroyed sport in Crimea,' he said. 'The occupation broke my amateur career. It felt very bad, like a kind of depression.'
Lapin eventually left for Kyiv and joined Usyk's team, making a winning professional debut in August 2020. He won his first five fights, including a victory over Pawel Martyniuk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. However, Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 again derailed his progress. He lost 11 kilograms in four months, but returned to beat Slovakia's Josef Jurko in Jeddah that August.
Now based in Spain for training camps, Lapin works under a strict regime with no phones or social media. The 6ft 6in fighter remains focused on his goal of becoming world champion, despite the ongoing turmoil in his homeland.
