World Boxing News looks at the thirteen boxers who hold a victory over undefeated two-weight undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk is boxing’s number one fighter and Pound for Pound king. The formidable Ukrainian has never tasted defeat in a professional ring. However, in his early days, Usyk was nowhere near as unbeatable as he is today as he struggled to grow into a comfortable weight class.
He suffered at least fifteen losses as an amateur in over one hundred bouts, having won bronze at the 2006 European Championships to begin his medal haul.
Those reverses included double defeats against two opponents and losses to at least eleven others, one against ex-welterweight champion Shawn Porter at middleweight. The Porter defeat led to a failure to qualify for the 2007 World Championships.
From 2008, Usyk focused on world heavyweight honors, which proved to be a masterstroke. He won his first significant gold at the 2011 World Championships in Baku.
Having lost to former undisputed light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in 2007, Usyk avenged that defeat twice. However, one foe managed a stoppage over him, former middleweight [Matt] Matvey Korobov.
Those defeats, no matter how painful, shaped Usyk into the champion he is today and put him in a position to claim the Olympic gold medal at London 2012.
To his considerable credit, Usyk’s run has lasted sixteen years. The last time he tasted a loss was at the 2009 World Amateur Championships. In the semi-finals, Usyk lost on points to Egor Mekhontsev. Mekhonstev eventually claimed gold at the same Olympics in the light heavyweight division.
Since turning professional, Usyk has been an unstoppable force. A two-time Ring Magazine belt winner, Usyk became the undisputed cruiserweight and undisputed heavyweight champion.
His boxing record stands at 23-0, 14 KOs. He took the heavyweight title from Anthony Joshua and defended it three times, once against AJ and twice against Tyson Fury.
Comparisons between Usyk and Evander Holyfield are intensifying in terms of legacy stakes. However, like Holyfield, Usyk never had it all his own way.
Below, WBN looks at Usyk’s reverses in the order in which they occurred.
Usyk losses
Sergey Sklyarov – [June 2005, Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, Estonia]
Less than a month after debuting as a middleweight in 2005, Usyk lost on points to Skylarov in Estonia. What makes the defeat truly eye-opening is that Usyk, just 18 at the time, was Sklyarov’s only recorded amateur victory.
Lukasz Wawrzyczek – [November 2005, Leszno, Poland]
Wawrzyczek won a split decision over Usyk in a Ukraine vs. Poland International match. The win came after Wawrzcyzek initially struggled to find an opponent and almost didn’t fight.
In 2024, he explained to the BBC how the fight happened.
“I got called up to represent Poland, but the Polish national team coach told me, ‘Sorry Lukasz, but they don’t have any member in your weight division. I was a welterweight, but they [the Ukrainian Team] said, ‘Oh, we have a young boy, 18 years old, in the middleweight division. Do you want to fight with him?’ That was Oleksandr Usyk.
“He was already a European junior champion. He was much bigger than me, but I said, ‘Yeah, why not, let’s fight,’ and we did. I won the third round and the fight.”
Wawrzyczek turned pro nine months after fighting Usyk. He enjoyed an eight-year career but only managed to land domestic titles during his run between 160 and 168 pounds.
Omer Aydogan – [February 2006 – Debrecen, Hungary]
Turkey’s Aydogan defeated Usyk on points to win the 2006 Bocskai Memorial Final. There’s no evidence that Aydogan ever turned professional after a mixed bag of amateur results.
Mohamed Hikal – [May 2006, Istanbul, Turkey and October 2006, Baku, Azerbaijan]
One of only two boxers to score more than one victory over Usyk, Hikal won the 2006 Ahmet Comert Tournament Final 26-11 before scoring a sensational 17-8 victory using all his experience at the 2006 World Cup.
Like Aydogan, Hikal never turned professional. He defeated Usyk six months after a similar win over another former pound-for-pound king, Gennadiy Golovkin.
Matt Korobov – [July 2006, Plovdiv, Bulgaria and October 2006, Baku]
Korobov is the second and final opponent to score two wins over Usyk. He’s also the only pugilist who stopped Usyk from hearing the final bell.
Unlike Hikal, Korobov had lost to ‘GGG’ before running into Usyk three years later. In the third round, he halted Usyk at the 2006 EABA European Championships Semi-Final stage. Four months later, at the same tournament as Hikal, Korobov beat Usyk on points. He defeated Hikal into the bargain before overcoming Emilio Correa in the middleweight final.
The Florida-based Russian turned pro in 2008 and enjoyed a six-year undefeated run before losing to Andy Lee for the WBO middleweight title. Despite a mini-revival, losses to Jermall Charlo, Chris Eubank Jr., and Ronald Ellis ended his career during the pandemic.
Shawn Porter – [December 2006, Harvey, United States]
The most surprising name on the list is former IBF and WBC welterweight champion Shawn Porter. What looks like a colossal mismatch now that actually took place at The Harvey Boxing Club during a USA vs. Ukraine International. Porter was a middleweight at the time before moving down when turning pro and enjoying a Hall of Fame career.
After four rounds with Usyk, Porter lost on two of the judges scorecards. Leonid Loivskiyy carded for Usyk 19-11, while Allan Stockdale sided with the Ukrainian 38-36. Unfortunately for Oleksandr Usyk, US judge Zachary Young scored so wide for Porter at 39-22 that it was enough to sway the result in the American’s favor 23-20.
Babacar Kamara – [May 2007, Ahmet Comert Sport Hall, Istanbul, Turkey]
Kamara managed to see out a 17-15 decision over Usyk at the 2007 Ahmet Comert Tournament Preliminaries. Usyk had finally realized he needed to move up in weight but still couldn’t grasp the decision.
Artur Beterbiev – [August 2007, Kaliningrad, Russia]
Fighting Usyk on home soil, future light-heavyweight champion Beterbiev scored a close 12-10 triumph over Usyk at the 2007 Amber Gloves Russia vs Ukraine International. Usyk would have to wait five years for revenge, which came on the biggest stage at the 2012 Olympic Games. Usyk beat Beterbiev in the Quarter-Final on his way to the gold.
Beterbiev became one of the most feared punchers in boxing and still holds a one hundred percent knockout ratio.
Viktar Zuyeu – [March 2008, Pescara, Italy]
On his way to qualifying for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Usyk lost to Zuyeu in the 2008 European Olympic Qualifier Final. His performance in the tournament was enough to guarantee a spot on the Ukrainian Team. However, Usyk lost in the Olympic Quarter-Final to Italian Clemente Russo, the same man who knocked out Zuyeu in the first round.
Xiaoping Zhang – [June 2008, Istanbul, Turkey]
As part of another Ahmet Comert Tournament, Usyk lost 14-5 [in the final] to Zhang, the eventual light-heavyweight gold medalist in London, in a warm-up for the 2012 Games.
Clemente Russo – [August 2008, Beijing, China]
Then came the Russo defeat for Usyk. The experienced champion beat Usyk and Deontay Wilder when claiming gold at the Workers’ Gymnasium. Again, four years later, in London, Usyk avenged that loss when winning the amateur sport’s most significant chunk of precious metal.
Osmay Acosta – [December 2008, Moscow, Russia]
Months after his Olympic disappointment, Usyk faced Cuban Osmay Acosta in the 2008 World Cup Final. Only a few months earlier, Usyk had defeated Acosta and was the favorite to prevail. This time around, Acosta took the spoils and the title.
Egor Mekhontsev – [September 2009, Milan, Italy]
Finally, the last man to beat him in 2009 was Egor Mekhontsev. Usyk was on a nine-month undefeated streak when he ran into the Russian amateur southpaw at the 2009 World Amateur Championships Semi-Final.
Mekhonstev took a 14-10 victory in what would be the turning point for his career. After this loss, Usyk was adamant he’d never lose another fight.
Like Usyk, Mekhonstev became the Olympic champion at the London Games, this time at 81 kg, before turning professional in the United States a year later. He fought 14 pro bouts and never lost, but unlike the title-laden Usyk, a world title eluded him.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
