I beat Oleksandr Usyk in the amateurs but there is one key reason why he is an all-time great

Shawn Porter defeated Oleksandr Usyk in a little-known amateur bout, but his former rival has gone on to achieve greatness.

Usyk has had unprecedented success in the professional ranks after turning over as a gifted amateur, carrying a perfect record of 23-0.

The Ukrainian conquered the cruiserweight division becoming undisputed champion, before graduating to the sport's glamour weight class at heavyweight.

But despite doubts over his credentials when piling on his pounds, Usyk waltzed into the division and took out some leading operators including Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua.

Most recently 'The Cat' made history by becoming the first undisputed heavyweight king since 1999 beating Tyson Fury in May.

He has since gone on to beat Fury in a rematch in December with his legacy as a pound-for-pound current leader confirmed.

But many have now compared Usyk to fearless operators of the past, suggesting he will go down in the record-books as an all-time heavyweight and boxing great.

American star Shawn Porter shared the ring with the Ukrainian when the pair were amateurs at 20-years-old in December 2006.

He famously beat the Ukrainian, and has since recalled rocking the champion with a stunning right hand to get the job done.

The former two-time welterweight world champion knows what it takes to beat the supremely talented star, and believes those of the past would have struggled to beat him.

"I don't really like to mix the generations," Porter told marvelbet369.com.

"I feel like these old fighters in previous generations in the 50's and 60's couldn't hold a candle to us new guys.

"Usyk is an incredible fighter I can say that from having shared the ring with him.

"There is so much more in terms of substance what we bring to the ring.

"I think of this generation the past two generation, he is an all-time great at cruiserweight and heavyweight.

"The things he was able to accomplish, and how he's been able to accomplish them is remarkable.

"He's gone up to heavyweight as a smaller guy and made it look easy."

Usyk has naturally faced comparisons to the likes of boxing legend Evander Holyfield, who made a similar journey taking titles at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.

It is for certain that none of the current heavyweights have been able to stand up to his sensational and gifted craft, and he could well retire with an unblemished pro record.

He is now 37-years-old and has yet to pencil in his next move, with a rematch against Daniel Dubois the only current option on the table.

If he was to defy calls to fight again and retire, he would have a legacy rarely matched in the modern day.

Naturally Usyk has been thrust into fantasy fights with the likes of Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, the greats of old.

But ex-world champion Duke McKenzie disagrees with Porter and believes he wouldn't fare well against heavyweights of previous eras.

He told marvelbet369.com: "Unfortunately for Oleksandr Usyk, he is not an all-time great. He is a modern great.

"We are in this four belt era, because he has won all of them at cruiserweight and heavyweight, it makes him a modern day great.

"But unfortunately for Usyk, he doesn't have enough dance partners like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Earnie Shavers.

"Any of those guys I have just named, Usyk wouldn't have beaten them. And that is my honest opinion."