Pound for Pound star Oleksandr Usyk has proven unstoppable in the professional ranks since leaving his amateur days behind him with over 300 victories.
Usyk lost just 15 contests in the vest and has since embarked on one of the most remarkable tenures the sport has ever seen. The 37-year-old is a two-weight undisputed champion and still holds three titles in the heavyweight division.
However, as an 18-year-old middleweight, Usyk came across a welterweight who would prove stubborn and hand him a loss in 2005. Enter Poland’s Lukasz Wawrzyczek, an amateur contender who eventually turned professional and retired in 2014 after a forgettable career.
The one accolade he will undoubtedly be remembered for came before he entered the paid ranks. As he explained in an interview after Usyk defeated Tyson Fury to reign supreme at 200 pounds plus, Wawrzyczek defeated the superstar fighter to hand him a second loss in three amateur bouts.
“Back in the day I was a welterweight, 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 told BBC Sport. “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.”
After scoring a round apiece, it was the 21-year-old who fended off the advances of the teenage protege.
“My national team coach said, ‘Lukasz, it’s a draw. If you lose this round, you lose the fight. So I went the whole round [going] forward. I won that third round and the fight,” Wawrzyczek stated.
Usyk would go on to lose another thirteen contests before moving up in weight and becoming the irresistible force we know today. Those setbacks included one against future world welterweight titleholder Shawn Porter. Then a middleweight himself, Porter would eventually drop down in weight.
At his amateur peak, Usyk wowed the crowds by claiming Olympic gold at London 2012. He then left the vest behind before winning the World Boxing Super Series Cruiserweight Tournament and eventually defeating the best around to crown an exceptional heavyweight run in 2024.
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.
