Welterweight Sean Porter was praised for his win over Alexander Usyk

Former featherweight champion Shawn Porter earned praise for his now-famous victory over heavyweight champion Alexander Usyk.

Porter, a two-time top seed at 147 pounds in the pros, has wrestled at much heavier weights in the amateur ranks.

Regularly weighing in at just over 165 pounds, Porter has gradually cut weight since making his amateur bantamweight debut in 2008 without a vest.

By 2010, Porter had moved up to 147 pounds in a remarkable transformation. In eight years of boxing, Porter lost almost 20 pounds.

Shawn Porter defeated Alexander Usyk

Playing in the amateur campaign, Porter won a series of tournaments and reached the finals of many others. The fight with Usyk took place about four years into his tenure.

At The Harvey Boxing Club, the USA organized a tournament against their Ukrainian counterparts four years before the start of the World Series of Boxing.

Heading into the Porter contest, Usyk had one of the worst runs of his amateur career. He has lost three of his last four bouts, including the 2006 European final against Matt Korabov.

At the 2006 World Cup, Usyk lost twice. One of them came to Korabov again. He managed to defeat the Chinese Yupin Lei and go to the fight in the USA with the victory. It was another loss to Porters, but a close one. Porter won the fight 23-20 on the Zachary Young card in Illinois.

Incredible amateur race of Usyk

It took Usyk another year to begin the improvements that would eventually lead to his fantastic streak from 2008-2012. This period culminated in gold at the 2012 London Olympics after missing out on the 2008 Olympics.

But that failure to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2008, when good friend Vasyl Lomacheka won his first gold, must have deeply affected Usyk.

He had never lost a fight since 2009 and was winning everything in sight until his career-defining gold.

Porter’s triumph over Usyk, which he won praise for in Premier Boxing Champions vs. Deontay Wilder vs. Robert Helenius, seems to only get better with age.

Coach and analyst Joe Goosen seemed genuinely surprised when Porter’s feat was celebrated.

Wilder v. Helenius

Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius in Brooklyn in just 177 seconds. After the fight, Porter spoke to ES News and gave his opinion on Wilder.

“Everybody uses that word ‘other.’ But this [Deontay Wilder] definition of different

“I think it’s cool to see Deontay be able to come back the way he did today. He looked different in the ring today.

“He looked calm and composed. As if he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“Wilder looked very confident and that’s what the game is all about. The mental part is more important than the physical part. The physical usually takes care of itself,” he added.

Anyone who thinks Porter doesn’t know much about heavyweight the division should think again.

In the end, he defeated the unified champion, the number one in the division and the current King of Pound for Pound.

WBN editor Phil Jay has over a decade of experience in boxing news. Also, follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram and Twitter @world boxing news.