Oktay Urkal is a Turkish-German former professional welterweight

Welterweight

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

.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Urkal won the silver medal in the light welterweight

Light welterweight

-Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds...

 division at the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. His official results were:

• Defeated Reynaldo Galido (Philippines) 19-2
• Defeated David Diaz (United States) 14-6
• Defeated Nordine Mouichi (France) 19-10
• Defeated Fathi Missaoui (Tunisia) 20-6
• Lost to Hector Vinent
  Héctor Vinent
  Héctor Vinent Cháron was a Cuban boxer, who won the Light Welterweight Gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1996 Summer Olympics.-External links:**...
  
   (Cuba) 13-20

In the same year he captured the gold medal at the European Amateur Boxing Championships

1996 European Amateur Boxing Championships

The Men's 1996 European Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Vejle, Denmark from March 30 to April 7. The 31st edition of the bi-annual competition, in which 304 fighters from 35 countries participated this time, was organised by the European governing body for amateur boxing, EABA.- Medal...

 in Vejle

Vejle

Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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 and twice to Vivian Harris

Vivian Harris

"Vicious" Vivian Harris is a Guyanese professional boxer who was born in Georgetown, Guyana and now resides in Brooklyn, New York...

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

Miguel Cotto

Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez is a Puerto Rican professional boxer and the reigning WBA light middleweight champion. He is the younger brother of contender Jose Miguel Cotto and cousin of Abner Cotto...

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.