Dwayne Johnson’s new film, ‘The Smashing Machine,’ is projected to earn a whopping $20 million in its opening weekend when it hits theaters on October 3. Starring Johnson alongside Emily Blunt, the biopic follows the story of MMA legend Mark Kerr and has already generated buzz after receiving a 15-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. Yet, it’s undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk who has managed to steal the spotlight.

The Ukrainian boxing legend brings to life the role of Igor Vovchanchyn. Who? Kerr knows him quite well! He is the ultimate real-life rival Kerr faced twice in the late 1990s during Kerr’s PRIDE FC career. This is, of course, Usyk’s feature film acting debut, a role he likely landed thanks to his emergence as the new undisputed heavyweight champion and, of course, the shared Ukrainian background with Vovchanchyn. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Usyk.

“He wants to learn” – Director Benny Safdie on “teaching” Oleksandr Usyk “how to punch”

Speaking to Logan Paul on the Impaulsive podcast, Benny Safdie recalled a moment during filming that left him puzzled. “How do I do this?” he wondered. Usyk had just defeated Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion when he showed up on set. Safdie explained, “Boxer’s punches are tight to the body, fast,” but a wrestler’s punches are supposed to be “wide and you’re throwing like that. It’s a different style.”

“He gets down on the ground, and he’s doing his boxing punches, and you can’t see it. And so, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I got to get in there [and teach Usyk how to throw punches],’” Safdie said. Hesitating at first, he eventually approached Usyk and demonstrated how to throw punches like a wrestler. “I get down and there’s this picture of me like wailing and he’s looking at me,” Safdie recalled. That moment, however, revealed something about Usyk’s character.

“This is what’s amazing about him, he’s watching and he’s like ‘Okay,’ and he wants to learn. He wants to do it, and he goes in there and he does it. That’s just like he is so humble and he’s such an amazing guy…,” Safdie confessed before warning Usyk. “He got there because I said to him, like, ‘You’re the heavyweight champion of the world, your punches can’t look like that.’” But that didn’t mean Usyk failed to impress.

Safdie remembered another moment when the boxer’s natural speed came through. “He’d throw the punch and then you got to like throw your head back cuz… when you get punched you don’t go to the side, you go head back,” Safdie said during the podcast. Yet when Usyk threw the punch, the shot didn’t land as expected. “We’re doing the fight, and Usyk throws a jab, and I’m like, ‘Oh, Bader, you didn’t react.’ He goes, ‘I didn’t see it.’ That’s how fast it was.”

Regardless, Safdie wasn’t the only one impressed by what Usyk could do!

Dwayne Johnson reveals one thing about Usyk that stunned him

Safdie, interestingly, refused to use stunt doubles for filming the fight scenes in the movie. This resulted in ‘The Rock’ sparring Oleksandr Usyk on the set of the movie. “Benny didn’t want to cut away; he came to me early and said, ‘I know you have great stunt doubles, but I’d like to only use you.’ Which meant, I’m gonna mix it up with these guys and get my a— kicked,” Johnson told talkSPORT.

So, Dwyane Johnson has revealed the one thing about the undefeated Ukrainian boxing legend that stunned him. It was Usyk’s strength and speed that shocked him most. “The first time I lock up with Usyk… I knew this is a bad dude,” Johnson said. “Couple of jabs out there and he is so fast, and you know if one of these punches slips… I’m going to hospital!”

Clearly, Oleksandr Usyk has left a mark on the cast of the movie! However, only time will tell how good his portrayal of Vovchanchyn really is. Are you excited about watching the movie?