AAs Oleksandr Usyk approached us shortly after three in the morning, resplendent in his purple tracksuit and Eeyore under his arm, his promoter let out a gentle cry: “Here he comes, the best man in boxing…”

Alex Krassyuk is not a traditional boxing promoter, but a much more understated man than most of his contemporaries in this riotous old business. But his pride was understandable in the immediate aftermath of Usyk’s decisive second consecutive loss to Tyson Fury.

Weighing more than 50 pounds and having Fury promise to take him to the darkest “injured locker” where he would “do serious damage,” Usyk had once again used an irresistible combination of courage and brilliance to pull off a comprehensive and thrilling victory to seal his victory as he defended his three world heavyweight titles in Riyadh in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Fury had dismissed and ridiculed him for years – as a “gap-toothed middleweight”, “midget”, “bum”, “dosser” and “sausage” – but Usyk is the undefeated and former undisputed cruiserweight world champion. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighed 226 pounds in his rematch with Fury. So he’s a pretty powerful “dwarf” and a real badass of a “sausage”.

Usyk is still fighting in a division above his natural home – where cruiserweights are only allowed to weigh a maximum of 200 pounds. The imperious manner in which he stood up to Fury before overtaking and defeating him is compelling evidence to anyone who wants to argue that Usyk should be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But when he spoke with humility and wit, it was even easier to savor his simple human qualities as an ordinary man, as a son, husband and father.

Boxing is full of shady and extremely suspicious people. But it also produces extraordinary men like Usyk. While Fury refused to praise Usyk, the world champion remained the epitome of grace. “He’s my best friend,” he said of Fury with a wry smile. “Yeah! Listen, I really respect this guy because I think he’s a very tough opponent. Tyson Fury makes me strong. Tyson is a Great Opponent. He’s a big man, a tough boxer. He’s a good man. There’s a lot of talk about Tyson, but I have a lot of respect for him. Twenty-four rounds? Listen, it’s historic now.”

Usyk split 24 rounds each with Fury and Anthony Joshua and nine rounds with Daniel Dubois. He was asked which of the three British fighters who have held versions of the world title had proven to be the most successful and difficult opponent. Usyk looked at his nails as if they had just been manicured and not hidden in sweaty boxing gloves, then gave his answer. “It’s Tyson Fury,” he said with such certainty that he didn’t even have to add a crucial “Of course.”

Fury argued that Usyk received the unanimous decision – 116-112 on all three scorecards – as a Christmas present from the judges. Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, had said it was “crazy” that Fury wasn’t given many more rounds by the officials.

“Uncle Frank?” Usyk said cheerfully. “I think he’s blind. If Tyson says it’s a Christmas present, then that’s fine. Thank you, God. Not Tyson. Thank you, God. Thank you very much, my coach Yurii (Tkachenko). Thank you, my team. Listen, I think Frank is a crazy man. But it’s okay, no problem. I win.”

He dedicated his victory to “my mother and all Ukrainian mothers” and reiterated his commitment to his country as the war against Russia continues with stressful consequences.

Usyk goes beyond boxing in Ukraine, and he soon elevated the press conference when he opened a suitcase containing a shiny sword that, he revealed, had once belonged to Ivan Mazepa, a 17th-century Cossack warrior and leader. “This is the original saber of the legendary hetman (field marshal) who fought to liberate Ukraine from Russian invaders over 300 years ago,” Krasyuk said.

It had been flown in from a museum in Ukraine so Usyk could hold it high in the ring after his victory over Fury. This was more than a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine’s resilient soldiers at the front. For Usyk, it was an opportunity to highlight his nonprofit foundation WOW, which promotes Ukrainian culture and men like Mazepa who “fought for the country’s sovereignty and freedom from imperial rule.”

Inevitably and prosaically, Usyk was then asked for his message to Dubois. He defeated Dubois 16 months ago in Poland, but this summer the British heavyweight was gifted one of the four world heavyweight belts Usyk won in May. After defeating Fury, Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight world champion of this century. It was scandalous that weeks later the IBF decided to strip him of their crown because he was under contract to fight Fury again instead of fighting their mandatory challenger.

Dubois was installed as IBF champion and has since knocked out Joshua. But Usyk just shrugged his shoulders. “I have no message for Dubois.”

Instead, he told us about the inspiration he received from his sons that afternoon. “It helped me because today my boys win competitions and take judo belts. Mykhailo receives the orange belt, Kyrylo the green belt. And Kyrylo spoke to me today. He said, “Hey dad, you’re next to win.” I said, “Okay.”

He also shouted his love to his eldest daughter, Elizaveta, who had given him her toy Eeyore to bring him good luck. He stressed that returning to his wife Yekaterina and their four children was far more important to him than discussing what he might do next in boxing. “Hear my next step, I want to rest. Today my wife sent me a video message. My little daughter Marisa says: “Da-dee… Da-dee.” She is 10.5 months old. I only had two months at most to look at my little daughter. Maybe a month and a half (since he was locked in for Fury in back-to-back training camps). Now I want to go home, rest, not talk on the phone and close the doors of my house. I want to sit like this…”

Usyk grinned, leaning back in his chair, stretching his legs and spreading his arms wide. “I want to sit back and look at the sky. Mmmmm. I also want to look at a tree and see how it grows. Yes! I want to rest and not think about boxing, Dubois, Tyson Fury, bleagghhh. I just want to rest and play with my children.”

Fury, meanwhile, is planning a return to boxing soon and it’s likely there will be hysteria surrounding his fight against Joshua next year. But it will be difficult for many of us to care much about this domestic conflict when Usyk has so soundly defeated them both and his cultural and political importance to Ukraine continues to grow during a relentless war.

He remains anchored in the everyday human concerns for his people and his family, but just before disappearing into the early morning darkness of Riyadh, Usyk allowed himself a brief burst of bravery. When asked if he could think of any heavyweight in history good enough to beat him, Usyk thought long and hard before coming up with a familiar name.

“Yes,” he said with a blank expression, “this is Oleksandr Usyk.”

Then, as if to remind us that he had not forgotten his manners, the best man in boxing stood and bowed with deep and respectful gratitude.