Oleksandr Usyk may be undefeated as a professional boxer, but 'The Cat' has suffered fifteen defeats in the amateur scene – including in 2006 against Shawn 'Showtime' Porter.
As boxing fanatics around the world look ahead to the huge heavyweight rematch against Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia, many are wondering how the former welterweight champion could beat the sensational Ukrainian.
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Shawn Porter reveals how he beat Oleksandr Usyk in the amateurs
Oleksandr Usyk suffered fifteen losses on the amateur scene before turning pro in 2013; one of those defeats came at the hands of Artur Beterbiev, while another was scored by American icon Shawn 'Showtime' Porter.
“I'm about 6 feet tall now – that's about what I was then – Usyk wasn't as tall as he is now and [he was] He was slim at 165 pounds, but he could box,” Porter said on an old episode of his PorterWay Podcast.
“It was a really good match,” the former welterweight champion noted of his unanimous decision win (23-20), before revealing exactly how he did it.
“It was a close fight all the way, but when I went into the last round my dad was coaching me, and we had another guy Dan Campbell, he was the 2008 Olympic coach, he's on the ground and he puts the stool in , put the bucket in, put the water in.
“Going into that fourth round, before I walked out and the bell rang, he said, 'Shawn, if you line him up, he's there for the right hand – if you throw a straight right hand, you land it and you get him' . And that's exactly what happened.”
According to Porter, once he followed Campbell's advice, he was able to line up Usyk and then land a beautiful straight right hand that wobbled the Ukrainian.
“We're moving and doing our thing, and I land a right hand on Usyk – and he stumbled back. And Shawn Porter, you all already know, I jumped on him and ended up winning 23-20… It was a great fight, and I promise you all, for an amateur fight it was worth paying for the man.
While lesser fighters might become obsessed with beating Usyk in the ring, Porter stated in a later podcast episode that he had almost completely forgotten about their fight.
“I remember when my hand was raised, I thought to myself that I deserved that win. That wasn't a fight where I got the win just because he came to the US, I had to earn that win.
“I was in Ukraine in 2018 and it was all love, man, that's what people would actually do [come up] and talk about that fight [when] I had completely forgotten about it.”
Shawn Porter shares prediction for Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2
Speaking to FightHubTV, Porter is said to make his prediction on the upcoming heavyweight rematch between Usyk and 'The Gypsy King', teasing that the December 21 clash is 'Tyson Fury's fight to lose.
“And what I mean by that, in the first fight we saw that he was bigger, he was stronger, he was sharper from the outside, [but] he had a moment where he was complacent, and he paid for it by losing the fight. He lost the entire second part of the fight.”
Porter initially sounded cautious about making a final choice, explaining that there are some things in professional boxing that you just can't measure.
“What I can't ignore here, though, are two things: the greatness of Oleksandr Usyk and the wars and the mileage on Tyson Fury… That mileage is something we can't really measure and the greatness of Oleksandr Usyk we can' that measures neither do you.”
“I think in the first fight we knew it was 50/50 and it really was a 50/50 fight. The same goes for the second fight, but I bet Tyson Fury wins this fight.”
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 will air live from the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, December 21.
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