Constantin Ursu arrived in England as an 18-year-old from Moldova who could not speak English and originally planned to stay for just one month. Nearly eight years later, he is unbeaten at (15-0, 6 KOs), holds the British and Commonwealth welterweight titles and is preparing to defend them in front of one of the biggest audiences of his career on the Itauma-Hrgovic card at The O2.

Ursu’s journey from Chisinau to Plymouth began in 2018 after a Moldovan friend connected him with trainer Marlee Dann. Ursu initially did not even want to leave home, but agreed to come to England for a month-long training camp. He arrived with little money, no job and no English. For the first months, Ursu and Dann relied heavily on Google Translate just to communicate. That one-month trip ultimately became his new life.

His rise has been impressive, as he won the Commonwealth title by stopping Eithan James, added the WBO European belt against Ryan Amos and then defeated Owen Cooper over 12 rounds to become British champion. That victory carried an extra layer of difficulty: Ursu later revealed that he had fought Cooper with an injured hand and on that day he became the first Moldova-born boxer to win the British title.

Watch Cooper vs. Ursu highlights: Watch

There have been other setbacks along the way. Before facing Amos, Ursu underwent surgery for a torn bicep and returned to the ring ahead of schedule. His trainer described the subsequent 12-round victory as a near-faultless performance. Despite the injury problems, Ursu has kept his perfect professional record intact and has openly spoken about ambitions of eventually becoming a world champion.

Now Ben Vaughan (12-2, 4 KOs) stands in his way, whose two defeats have both come by majority decision, suggesting his record does not tell the whole story. But for Ursu, this fight is also about exposure. He believes performing on a major card at The O2 could be the night that changes how the wider boxing public sees him.

From a teenager communicating with his trainer through a phone to an unbeaten British champion walking into The O2 at 15-0, Ursu has already travelled a long way. Tonight, considerably more boxing fans may finally learn his name.

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Image Credit: BBC