Fought against Russians, suffered a stroke at 33, and lost his family due to his temperament. This is the story of Vyacheslav Uzelkov.
In the boxing gym, he sought refuge from bullying
Vyacheslav Uzhelkov was born on April 8, 1979, in the city of Vinnytsia. The boy had a rather stocky build, which earned him the nickname "Boar" among his peers. Bullying from his classmates hurt Slava, but he was unable to fight back. The father of the future champion decided that his son needed to learn to stand up for himself, so at the age of 7, he took him to a boxing class.
There was no love at first sight for this sport, as the exhausting training sessions twice a day took too much time and energy, depriving Uzhelkov of a normal childhood. However, over time, the boy got into it and, under the guidance of his first coach, Dmitry Shamis, worked diligently in the gym day after day.
Because of his boxing training, Vyacheslav began to fall behind in school, which, of course, displeased his parents. The boy then received an ultimatum from them: he had to bring home good grades, or he would be forced to forget about the boxing gym. By the ninth grade, Uzhelkov was an honor student, although most teachers gave him good grades "grudgingly," as his behavior, to put it mildly, left much to be desired.
Could have become a thug but turned away from his parents
In the 90s, many graduates of boxing schools turned to a life of crime. Such a fate could have easily befallen Vyacheslav, especially considering that one of his coaches was a racketeer. However, meeting Marina Borzhenskaya saved him from crime. His future wife was the only person who had a positive influence on the young man, prompting him to focus on legitimate pursuits and decide to make boxing his profession.
1The first significant success came for the boxer in 1997 in Birmingham when he became the European junior champion. Earning not much money, but still some, Uzhelkov immersed himself in the nightlife of clubs and nearly ruined his career; however, he later got married and turned away from partying.
At the age of 20, Uzhelkov decided to cut ties with his parents and ceased all communication with them, a fact he later shared in an interview. In contrast to him, his wife maintained regular contact with her mother-in-law, allowing him to stay updated on all news from his family. This connection helped him learn about his father's death, but even after that, he couldn't reconcile with his mother and brother.
Eventually, Vyacheslav found himself in a similar situation when his wife and children distanced themselves from him. Initially, the Uzhelkov family enjoyed a sense of harmony despite the not-so-prosperous early years of his career, enabling him to fully concentrate on boxing and achieve significant success. In 2001, he became a bronze medalist at the World Championship, and the following year, he was the runner-up in Europe in the 91-kilogram weight category.
Fought Russians and Belarusians, could have become world champion
His successes at the amateur level opened the door to a professional career, which he began at the age of 25—quite enough time to maximize his potential. In his debut match, the Ukrainian defeated the Russian Suleiman Dzerilov in six rounds. Uzhelkov typically boxed in Ukraine but also had several fights abroad—in the USA, Monaco, and Germany.
In his 14th match, defeating the Russian Artem Vychkin by technical knockout in the seventh round, Vyacheslav claimed his first title—the EBU-EE version. During his career, he defeated four representatives from Russia. More opponents in his record came from Belarus—five, all of whom were knocked out.
2Eventually, he became the WBA Intercontinental Champion in the light heavyweight division, and just three years later, after a series of successful defenses, he was able to challenge for the full WBA world championship title—he only needed to defeat the Kazakh Beibut Shumenov.
In the first round of the fight, which took place in California, Vyacheslav sent Shumenov to the canvas, but in the following rounds, he was not himself. The Kazakh was far more active and, starting from the third round, controlled the course of the match. After 12 rounds, Uzhelkov lost by unanimous decision, suffering his first defeat in the professional ring.
Interestingly, Uzhelkov's coach and cutman were not issued passports with visas by the US embassy, resulting in no one from his team being in his corner during the championship fight—instead, he was assigned different coaches on-site. It’s possible that this contributed to him not reaching the pinnacle of his career.
Avoided knockouts but suffered a stroke
Uzhelkov quickly recovered from his loss and achieved three consecutive victories, but then faced a difficult match against German Eduard Gutknecht in the opponent's ring, where Vyacheslav lost by points for the second time. Although there was no knockout, the fight took a toll on his most precious asset—his health: shortly after the match, the Ukrainian suffered a stroke. Perhaps it was time to end his career then. But Uzhelkov decided to continue.
He fought another seven matches, one of which he won the IBO international champion title in the light heavyweight division, defeating American Jaydon Kodrington by knockout. The victory over Kodrington was his last; in 2014, he lost a split decision to Serbian Geard Ajetovic and ultimately retired from boxing. In total, Vyacheslav fought 34 bouts in the professional ring, winning 30 of them, 19 by knockout, and suffering four defeats.
Despite never becoming a world champion, Uzhelkov was extremely well-known in Ukraine. Vyacheslav's fights were broadcast live on the "Inter" channel, making him, at one point, the third Ukrainian boxing star after the Klitschko brothers. This, in turn, paved the way for him on television after his sports career ended.
Became a television star and lost his family
Uzhelkov found success on television, where, during his sports career, he spent almost a month living on a deserted island in the first season of the Ukrainian "Last Hero," later became a jury member on the "Ukraine's Got Talent" show, participated in "Dancing with the Stars," and became a trainer on the "Weight Loss and Happy" show. On that last project, he established himself as the most successful mentor in its history, as one of his protégés managed to lose a record percentage of excess weight, so it was no surprise that he stayed there for five seasons.
Uzhelkov's authority on the STB channel, where the show aired, was so significant that he managed to secure a job for his wife, Marina Borzhenskaya, a decision he later regretted. He claimed that while she was unknown, everything was fine in the family, but as soon as she became a star, everything fell apart. Regardless, in 2018, Marina ended their relationship, and in 2021, the couple, who had been officially married for 22 years, divorced.
For a long time, Uzhelkov tried desperately to win his wife back. Once, he even participated in the "Blind Marriage" show and rejected a "newlywed" partner, citing his feelings for Marina as the reason. Their son Robert and daughter Olivia, born in 2009 and 2012 respectively, stayed with Borzhenskaya, although they initially met their father occasionally.
Borzhenskaya accused her ex-husband of abusive behavior. Eventually, the children also decided not to maintain contact with Vyacheslav—just as he had once done with his parents. The only difference was that this situation became public, which made both Borzhenskaya and Uzhelkov more media prominent, while simultaneously tarnishing the ex-boxer's reputation: news involving him became increasingly scandalous.
Ran for mayor of Vinnytsia from OPZZH
However, it seems that Uzhelkov created most of his life problems for himself for various reasons. In 2020, Vyacheslav entered politics and attempted to become the mayor of Vinnytsia. Everything would have been fine if he hadn’t run from the pro-Russian "OPZZH"...
3Yuriy Boyko and Vyacheslav Uzhelkov
Former president of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine, Volodymyr Prodivus, who was a people's deputy of the 7th convocation from the Party of Regions, voted for dictatorial laws on January 16, 2014, and remains a close associate of the notorious Russian head of the International Boxing Association, Umar Kremlov, helped the former boxer become a politician. Prodivus often spends time with Kremlov and continues to work in his