Oleksandr Usyk played in a professional football match for Ukrainian second-division team FC Polissya Zhytomyr earlier this year while keeping fit for rematch with Anthony Joshua

Oleksandr Usyk made his professional football debut for FC Polissya Zhytomyr in a 2-1 win over NK Veres Rivne back in February.

Boxing's WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion of the world came on as a substitute for the Ukrainian second-division team in a winter break friendly in Turkey as he joined their camp while keeping fit for the Anthony Joshua rematch, which will be live on talkSPORT on Saturday night.

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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.

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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.

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Usyk vs Joshua 2 on talkSPORT

talkSPORT will be in Jeddah for the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua rematch on Saturday, August 20.

Join us - for FREE - for exclusive radio coverage of the huge heavyweight fight that has the WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line.

Our expert team will be made up of presenters Adam Catterall, Gareth A Davies and Ade Oladipo, commentator Andy Clarke, former bantamweight champion Spencer Oliver and current heavyweight star Derek Chisora.

We'll be ringside in Saudi Arabia from 8pm - don't miss it!