Let’s test your boxing knowledge! Did former WBC welterweight champion Shawn Porter, at one point during his amateur career, defeat the reigning WBO, WBC, and WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk? If you don’t know the answer to this question, then the actual answer should knock the socks off your feet.

‘The Cat’ is about to enter the ring against rival former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury for their highly anticipated rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk previously stole a split decision win from Fury last May after a grueling 12 rounds of action. Regardless, can it really be possible for the pound-for-pound champion to have lost a fight to Porter?

Absolutely! And with Usyk’s fight hours away, this forgotten fact seems to have started making the rounds on the internet. Usyk may have started his professional career in the cruiserweight division, where he collected one title after the other to become the undisputed cruiserweight champion and followed suit in the heavyweight division.

Top Stories

boxing

Boxing Fight Purse: What Are Tyson Fury, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Conor Benn, and Others’ Expected Earnings?

10 hrs ago

boxing

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Hit With $7.3M Legal Roadblock as IRS Threatens His Las Vegas Property

1 day ago

boxing

Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder All but Confirmed as Tyson Fury Superfight Looms

2 days ago

boxing

Is Arslanbek Makhmudov Dagestani? Nationality, Ethnicity, and Religion of Tyson Fury’s Opponent

8 hrs ago

boxing

Main Event Boxer Collapses, Rushed to Hospital as Title Eliminator Bout Cancelled

12 hrs ago

However, back in 2006, Usyk and Porter came face-to-face for a fight in the super middleweight division. The bout was part of a competition between the USA and Ukraine with both teams presenting 11 fighters. Porter defeated Usyk on points in their four-round bout, earning a 23-20 victory. The fight took place when both were around 19 or 20 years old, though reports vary on their exact ages.

Regardless, Usyk would go on to win gold for his country in the following 2012 Olympics, and his amateur bout against Porter got lost in the transition. However, Porter remembers that fight quite well.

Shawn Porter reveals how he defeated Oleksandr Usyk

According to an April 2021 report from Sky Sports, former welterweight champion Shawn Porter recalled his surprising amateur victory over the undefeated heavyweight star Oleksandr Usyk. “Usyk was as tall as he is now,” Porter told Sky Sports. “He wasn’t a skinny bean when we fought, but he wasn’t as thick as he is now.” Despite Usyk’s height and reach advantages, Porter relied on strategy and grit.

“Going into the third round, my coach said, ‘Line this dude up for a right hand and you will get him!’” Porter shared on an episode of The Porter Way podcast. “Less than a minute in, I caught him with a right hand. He didn’t stumble but stepped back enough for me to know he was hurt. I jumped on him and won by four points.”

That being said, Tyson Fury may want a few pointers from Shawn Porter about how he beat Oleksandr Usyk back in 2006. However, things are much different now, Usyk has grown and learned much more as a fighter. Do you think Porter could defeat Usyk today?