Tyson Fury taunts Oleksandr Usyk for losing to a welterweight
Tyson Fury posted a picture on Instagram with a message directed to his heavyweight rival, stating: “Shawn Porter 5′ 7″ welterweight guy beat [Oleksandr Usyk] imagine what I’m gonna do to ya.”
Shawn Porter told Sky Sports in great detail just how he was able to defeat Usyk when they met in the amateurs in 2006, “He wasn’t a skinny bean when we fought. But he wasn’t as thick as he is now”, the two-time welterweight world champion reflected on when the former undisputed cruiserweight and current undefeated heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk was six weight divisions above him.
“In 2006 he fought at 165lbs (11st 13lbs),” the 36-year-old continued.
“He fought in the 2012 Olympic Games at heavyweight [equivalent to cruiserweight in professional boxing].
“My dad said: ‘You recognise this name? Remember fighting this kid?’
“I said no.
“He said: ‘He’s the Ukrainian that you beat in Chicago’.
“I said: ‘What! He’s fighting at heavyweight now?’
“Usyk was as tall as he is now, back when we fought. He is definitely bigger, heavier, stronger now.”
American star Porter and Ukrainian Usyk were both 20 years old when they clashed in December 2006.
Usyk would go on to capture an Olympic gold medal in the London 2012 games and is now unbeaten as a former undisputed cruiserweight champion (the first in a four-belt era) and a reigning unified heavyweight titleholder, set to fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship against bitter rival Tyson Fury on May 8.
But Porter, who now stands eight inches shorter and whose reach is nine inches less, managed to get the better of him all those years ago.
He reflected on his podcast, The Porter Way: “Amazing fight. Myself, Keith Thurman and 11 guys on the US team. Ukraine came over.
“Keith was 152lbs, I was 165lbs.
“Everybody comes back to the locker room losing!
“Me and Keith were in the locker room warming up. We looked at each other: ‘We ain’t going home with a loss’.
“I went out there against Usyk – he was tall, southpaw.
“We fought on the points system. Three out of five judges had to push a button within one second in order for you to get a point.
“First round, I was winning by two points. The second round was tied. Going into the third round my coach said: ‘Line this dude up for a right hand and you will get him!’
“The final round; less than a minute in I caught him with a right hand. He didn’t stumble back but he took a couple of steps back, enough for me to know that he was hurt.
“I jumped on him, kept boxing, and won the fight by four points.
“It was a close fight until the end. I thought to myself: ‘I earned that – not just because he came over to the US.'”
Porter turned pro shortly after that, in 2008, and became a two-time world welterweight champion, well respected for his willingness to fight anyone, and the excitement he brought to the ring.