HEAVYWEIGHT king Oleksandr Usyk was once given a beating and stopped during his amateur days.
Back in 2006, six years before he won gold at the London Olympic Games, Matvey Korobov pummelled the Ukrainian before the referee intervened to end the fight via the "Mercy Rule".
In the amateurs, the official can step in and end the bout if a fighter is on the end of a one-sided beatdown.
As reported by The Star, Korobov recalled the win, saying: "There was a knockdown, there was a stoppage.
"I think I dropped him off his feet. The referee scored a knockdown. I think that was the end of the round – the second, if I'm not wrong.
"The third round was stopped by the points, because I was many points ahead of him."
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The magnitude of Korobov's victory over Usyk would not be apparent at the time.
But in the years to come it would become evident just how impressive his dominant win over Usyk was.
While Korobov failed to win a world title in the pro ranks – losing to Andy Lee in 2014 – Usyk would go on to become a pound-for-pound great.
He cleaned up the cruiserweight division, securing all four belts on his way to undisputed status.
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Usyk then moved up to heavyweight and beat Derek Chisora in his first major test in the weight class.
That was followed up by a sensational victory over Anthony Joshua as the Ukrainian superstar became IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion.
Now he will rematch AJ in Saudi Arabia on August 20 in one of the biggest fights of the year – with Joshua hoping to become the first man to beat Usyk in the pros.
Should Usyk have his hand raised again, he will then undoubtedly target the undisputed heavyweight crown – which would mean a unification bout against WBC champion Tyson Fury.
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