He became Russian champion in 2003 and 2004 but did not participate in the 2004 Summer Olympics as his country chose to send Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov, who had lost to him but eventually won Olympic gold.
He won the world championships in 2005 against Emilio Correa and the European Championships in 2006, defeating Oleksandr Usyk. He calls his World Cup win over Cuban Yordanis Despaigne the hardest fight of his amateur career, he helped to edge out a 6:5 team win.
However, one foe managed a stoppage over him, former middleweight Matvey Korobov ...Matt Korobov –. Korobov is the second and final opponent to score two wins over Usyk ... Unlike Hikal, Korobov had ...
