Lisbon can’t get enough of Oleksandr Usyk. After charming fans at a star-packed Legends Charity Match and dropping by a wild Champions League night at the Estádio da Luz, the undisputed heavyweight champ added a business stop today: a full-day appearance with GR8 Tech at SBC Summit Lisbon 2025. Usyk hit the Super Stage at 11:45 for “The Heavyweight Playbook: Building Businesses That Perform When It Matters Most,” then led a walk-show to Booth C350 for live activations — including a signed-gloves giveaway — alongside demos of GR8’s Hyper Turnkey, ULTIM8 Sportsbook iFrame, and Infinite Providers Aggregation.
Football, friends, and a packed Luz
Usyk’s Lisbon tour started with the Legends Charity Game at Estádio da Luz, where Luís Figo captained Portugal Legends to a 4–1 win against a World XI featuring Kaká, John Terry, Alessandro Del Piero, Carles Puyol and more. England great Michael Owen laughed that watching Usyk shadow-box on the touchline had them thinking “he was going to go and knock somebody out… thankfully, we were only sharing a pitch and not the ring!” Proceeds benefited the Portuguese Red Cross, Cáritas, International Alert, and the Ukrainian Red Cross.
He then soaked up a dramatic Champions League tie as Qarabağ beat Benfica 3–2, with Ukrainian winger Oleksiy Kashchuk snatching the 86’ winner and Heorhii Sudakov assisting both Benfica goals; Anatoliy Trubin was in goal for the hosts.
The Lisbon twist: “Don’t push the horses” 🐴
If you’ve heard locals joking “Don’t push the horses,” thank Usyk for exporting a Ukrainianism. He used the phrase — a literal rendering of “Не жени коней,” i.e., hold your horses/slow down — at the final press conference before his July rematch with Daniel Dubois, and clips snowballed across social.
Where did it come from? Ukrainian outlet UNIAN traced the English phrasing to comedian Vasyl Kharizma, who played it for laughs in a 2024 bit from Interesting English. Usyk’s reuse turned it into a global meme, with TikTok/IG remixes spreading the catchphrase beyond boxing.
“Lisbon’s saying it now” — Oksana’s take
Fresh from a quick trip to the capital, Oksana told PORTUGAL PULSE the line has gone mainstream in Lisbon too: among friends — even on dates — “if a guy is moving a bit too fast, I’ll grin and say, ‘Don’t push the horses!’ Everyone gets it and laughs.” (Yes, said in English — and yes, very effective.)
Bottom line
Between a feel-good charity run-out, a front-row seat to a Champions League shocker, and a turn on the SBC stage, Usyk just gave Lisbon the full heavyweight experience — and a catchphrase the city’s happily adopting. Don’t push the horses? In Lisbon this week, it meant: enjoy the moment.
