Oktay Urkal (born 15 January 1970) is a

Turkish-German Turks in Germany, also referred to as German Turks and Turkish Germans (german: Türken in Deutschland/Deutschtürken; tr, Almanya'da yaşayan Türkler/Almanya Türkleri), are ethnic Turkish people living in Germany. These terms are also used t ...

former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He is a former

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

super lightweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

and

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

champion, and a multiple time world title challenger.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Urkal won the silver medal in the

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

division at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His official results were: *Defeated

Reynaldo Galido Reynaldo Galido (born 1 May 1975) is a Filipino boxer. He competed in the men's light welterweight event at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and com ...

(Philippines) 19-2 *Defeated David Diaz (United States) 14-6 *Defeated

Nordine Mouichi Nordine Mouchi (born 3 June 1972) is a French boxer. He competed in the men's light welterweight event at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commo ...

(France) 19-10 *Defeated

Fathi Missaoui Fethi Missaoui ( ar, فتحي الميساوي, born January 8, 1974) was a Tunisian boxer. Missaoui won the light welterweight bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Olympic results *Defeated Lee Trautsch (Australia) 25-9 *Defeated Fran ...

(Tunisia) 20-6 *Lost to

Hector Vinent In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

(Cuba) 13-20 In the same year he captured the gold medal at the

European Amateur Boxing Championships The European Amateur Boxing Championships is the highest competition for boxing amateurs in Europe, organised by the continent's governing body EUBC, which stands for the ''European Boxing Confederation''. The first edition of the tournament to ...

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. His Amateur Record was reportedly 184-27-5.

Professional career

Urkal is of Turkish descent, and has a fight record of 38 wins and 4 defeats. He is the former WBC International Light-Welterweight, twice European Light-Welterweight and European Welterweight champion. Urkal has fought for the world title three times losing to

Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional bo ...

and twice to

Vivian Harris Ivan Vivian Harris (born June 17, 1978) is a Guyanese former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2018. He held the WBA super lightweight title from 2002 to 2005. Amateur career After Harris arrived in the U.S., he began his amateur ...

. He won four straight after his defeat to Harris; this winning streak came to an end on 4 March 2007, when WBA Welterweight champion

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...

successfully defendend his title when Urkal's corner threw in the towel after the referee deducted a second point for a headbutt, leading Urkal's corner to believe he was being unfair.

References

* 1970 births Living people Boxers from Berlin German people of Turkish descent Turkish male boxers Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in boxing Welterweight boxers German male boxers European champions for Turkey AIBA World Boxing Championships medalists Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics {{Turkey-boxing-bio-stub