Oleksandr Usyk will be hoping for a repeat of seven months ago as he faces Tyson Fury in the ring tonight for their hotly-anticipated rematch bout.

The Ukrainian fighter triumphed via split decision back in May, ending Fury's unbeaten record and keeping his own going in the process. He has now returned to Riyadh for another blockbuster showdown with his British rival and is confident that he can make it two wins from two, despite Fury vowing to knock him out in the ring.

Usyk's first victory over 'The Gypsy King' saw him become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years - following on from Lennox Lewis in 1999 - and the first of the four-belt era. His rise to becoming king of heavyweight boxing isn't just down to his talent and hard work, however, having been supported all the way by his beloved wife Yekaterina.

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He has been married to the 37-year-old model - known as Katerina - for 15 years and they share four children - sons Kyrylo and Mykhalio and daughters Yelizaveta and baby Maria. While she keeps her family life largely private and is not overly active on social media, Katerina is a highly popular figure among Ukrainians and is always at ringside to cheer her husband on.

Such is her support for her husband, Katerina gave Usyk her blessing to miss Maria's birth, having been expecting the child around the same time as his first fight with Fury was planned. The fight was later delayed until May after Fury suffered a serious cut in training.

On finding out the scheduled bout was off, Usyk said: "Even my wife found out first because I was training. After sparring I was in the ring and information started to come through and I had a lot of messages on my phone.

"But my wife was not angry that I had missed the birth. It's my job and she is very smart. I am at my training camp and my wife says, 'No problem, you have to work.

In the lead-up to the rematch, Usyk revealed that he had not seen his wife or children for five months, but had spoken to them every day. He added: "It's helped me - because it's my family. My little daughter, Maria, started to walk, say 'mama', 'baba' [grandmother]. This is real motivation for me."

Usyk is expected to earn a fortune for the rematch after his victory in the first fight, with the £150m purse said to be split 60/40 in his favour this time around.

In the first fight, Usyk and his wife agreed to 70/30 split in Fury's favour on the condition the British fighter donated £1 million of his earnings to Ukraine, which he did.

While Katerina is her husband's biggest fan, however, her passion and support can sometimes boil over, as she ended up relaying an X-rated message to Usyk during one of his fights.

There was controversy when the Ukrainian heavyweight took on Daniel Dubois in Poland last August, as he was caught by a punch from the British boxer in the fifth round that was judged to have been a low blow.

While Usyk ultimately went on to win the bout and retain his titles via a ninth-round stoppage, his wife was left furious by the controversial punch and reportedly shouted for her husband to "beat the s*** out" of his opponent.

"If the fighter is hit with a low blow - intentional or unintentional - the referee can give up to five minutes for an injured fighter," Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk said at the time. "Let me tell you, Usyk’s wife was shouting at Oleksandr after that to tell him, ‘beat the s*** out of him'".