As Oleksandr Usyk enters the ring to face Anthony Joshua for the WBA/WBO and IBF heavyweight belts, the Ukrainian could be forgiven if he reflects on how far he has come.
After crushing all of his competitors at the cruiserweight level, the 34-year old made his debut in heavyweight in 2019.
He's already beaten Derek Chisora and Chazz Witherspoon to become the mandatory challenger to AJ this weekend.
If he wins, it would be the end of an amazing journey for Usyk who turned pro at 26 after a grounding that included 35o amateur bouts.
He won a gold medal at 2012 Olympics, one year after his World Championships win.
It wasn't always easy, however, for The Cat.
SPORT WAS HIS SALVATION
In 1987, Usyk was born in Ukraine's Crimea in Simferopol. He was immediately thrust into a life of sport and his only outlet was the world.
He revealed that he did some wrestling and hand-to-hand combat as a child. But he didn't believe in fanaticism.
"We did push-ups and squats. Sometimes we also learned simple techniques."
It seemed, however, that Simferopol's poverty was better escaped by a career in football.
Usyk attended the academy of the then-Ukrainian Premier League side SC Tavriya Simferopol until he was 15.
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However, the cost of football was too high for his parents so he bought his first boxing glove in 2002.
"I played for Tavria Simferopol and did quite well. I was always a starter, and I wasn't a benchwarmer.
"Soccer required some very serious expenses. My parents spent two to three hundred hryvnias on me.
Boxing was easier and more social than it used to be. I was given my gloves by the coach, and his wife made sure they were in the correct form.
"The only thing my mom ever spent money on was a trip ticket."
FRUIT-SELLER & FARM WORKER
Even as a teenager, Usyk had always maintained a strong work ethic.
He was born into poverty and had to support his family so he found work that would help them survive.
This included work on a farm and collecting fruit and selling it on the streets.
He said, "I sold icecream, I sold raisins, I sold peaches. I also worked on a farm and grazed cattle."
"I don't feel ashamed about this because I did it to survive. "I wanted to help my family, and that's normal."
HARDLY AMATEUR
2006 saw Usyk prove his boxing potential by reaching the semifinals of the European Championships.
He was victorious in the Strandja Cup in Bulgaria two years later. This event is crucial in determining who will be able to compete at the Olympics.
But it was not until 2012 that he reached international stardom.
Usyk won gold at the London Olympics. He beat Tervel Pulev, Artur Beterbiev and Clemente Russo from Italy.
He was 6ft 3in tall and had a record of 335 wins and 15 losses.
HE IS IN THE HISTORY BROCHURE BOOKS
Terence Crawford, Jermain TAYLOR, Bernard Hopkins, Cecilia Braekhus, and Jermain Taylor all held the WBC, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles simultaneously.
However, Usyk is the first boxer to have those belts in the cruiserweight division.
He defeated Krzysztof Golowacki by points in an amazing fight for the WBO title.
After 12 rounds, he won the WBC title against Mairis Brriedis. He also won the WBA and IBF titles by unanimous decision.
THROWING SHAPES
Usyk, like his countryman Vasyl Lombenko, loves to dance.
He is a skilled performer of the hopak, a Ukrainian traditional dance, after a hard training session. This explains his agile feet.
Alexander Krassyuk (director of K2 Promotions) told Boxing Monthly that dancing is his life.
"All he does in his life is inspired, positive and flexible.
He always charges people with love for God, and for one another. He loves to dance and expresses his love through dancing.
FORGET SHREK
Although he is most well-known for his exploits with the ring, Usyk married Yekaterina, his childhood sweetheart, in 2009. He showed that he has a playful side.
He lent his voice in 2018 to The Stolen Princess, a Ukrainian animated film that was a huge box office success and earned PS50m worldwide.
He was a Russian gangster who appeared with Vasyl Virastyuk (a former strongman competitor) in a story about a princess kidnapped and murdered by an evil sorcerer.
If Usyk continues his rise, it is possible that Usyk will be offered more roles in film.
The blockbuster Joshua is first.
