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Footwork decides a boxing match, they say. In Ukraine, the tired cliche took on a new meaning.
On Saturday, two Ukrainian war veterans faced off on prosthetic legs in what organisers called the world’s first competitive bout between double-amputee fighters.
Over three two-minute rounds at a venue in Brovary, outside Kyiv, the fight found its own rhythm.
There was less of the usual circling. Movement was measured, each step carefully placed as the boxers found their balance.
Once the heavyweight fighters settled, the exchanges were familiar to any boxing fan. Jabs flicked out, short combinations came in bursts.
The crowd had earlier been forced to evacuate the arena after an air raid alert, as Russia attacked Ukraine throughout the day. They returned to something they had never seen before, and at first did not quite know how to react.
But soon they were roaring – not so much for the punches, but for the fighters who kept getting up.
“I am boxing to remind people that, whatever happens, Ukraine and its people will get through this,” said Artem Khrebet at the weigh-in the day before the fight, standing topless, his arms thick with muscle.
Khrebet, who went by the military call sign Grizzly, lost both legs in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region when he came under artillery fire in the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
“We don’t want pity. Even after serious injuries like mine, life goes on. Give us the opportunity and the resources, and we’ll do the rest,” he said.
Ukraine faces a daunting task in rehabilitating the wounded after years of fighting in trenches and minefields. The toll is vast, with each amputation marking the beginning of a long and complicated process of adaptation.
Estimates vary, but Ukrainian officials and international organisations say more than 100,000 people have lost limbs since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Speaking from ringside, Scott Welch, a former British heavyweight champion, said boxing – long a source of national pride shaped by champions including the Klitschko brothers and Oleksandr Usyk – could play a role in helping Ukraine’s veterans.
For more than a decade, Welch has advocated boxing for amputees, often referred to as adaptive boxing, typically practised from a seated position in wheelchairs.
“Ukraine has so many veterans starting a new life, a new chapter,” he said. “Boxing builds their confidence and helps their minds. It lets them feel invincible and put on a great show.”
On Saturday, two other Ukrainian veterans also competed in a wheelchair bout, for which Welch and his team brought specialised wheelchairs from the UK.
For Khrebet and his opponent, Mykhailo Drobotenko, it was important to go further and fight on prosthetics. “I wanted to test myself and show other guys, my fellow veterans, that despite serious injuries, you can keep living and improving,” said Drobotenko, a former member of Ukraine’s special forces who lost his legs after stepping on a mine.
He described months of preparation for the fight as gruelling. “On prosthetics, when you don’t have a knee, your functionality and balance are obviously not the same. In boxing, a lot of power comes from the legs, so you have to adapt. You rely more on your core, pushing from the body instead.”
Both men said the sport had become a form of psychological release, restoring a sense of purpose.
“Training helped quiet everything else. It offers focus, structure, and some sort of sense of normality,” said Khrebet, who has been open about his struggles with mental health after his injury. “There are moments when you even forget that you don’t have legs any more. It’s therapy for me.”
The camaraderie between the fighters was evident. At the weigh-in, there was none of the usual bravado or trash talk. But once the fight began, the men made clear they were there to win.
“Adaptive boxing doesn’t usually involve winning or losing,” said Igor Faniian, the fighters’ coach who helped organise the bout. “But the lads made it clear they were in it to win. They kept asking why it should be a technical draw, they wanted that extra motivation,” he said.
“Both are champions in life. Only one will take the belt.”
In the third round, Drobotenko began to lose his footing more often under Khrebet’s punches. Drobotenko had lost his legs higher up than his opponent, leaving him with a less stable centre of gravity – an inevitable reality of boxing on prosthetics, where each injury affects balance differently.
When the final bell rang, Khrebet was declared the winner, claiming the Ukrainian veterans’ championship belt.
In the changing room, Drobotenko said he had little time for excuses. His focus had shifted to the next fight. “I’m asking for a rematch,” he said. “I’m not done with him yet.”
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