Sykes, who hails from
Brooklyn, is nicknamed "The Bull", due to his first name. Specifically, he hails from the Rutland Rd./the 90'z section of Brooklyn. He lost his 13th fight to unbeaten
Owen Beck but that remained his only blemish on his record for a while in that he beat the likes of Israel Garcia (record 10-0), Charles Hatcher (15-2), Talmadge Griffis (21-1-3) and Sherman Williams to climb up the ladder. He drew with former Cruiser title holder
Imamu Mayfield then beat Jovo Pudar (21-1) and even fringe contender
Friday Ahunanya (20-2-1) in 2005. His only problem was his lack of power as only 7 of his first 25 wins have come the short route. Undefeated KO artist
Samuel Peter was the first to knock him out but lightly regarded southpaw
Derek Bryant (18-4-1) also scored a
TKO effectively ending any hopes of becoming a contender. Former two-time heavyweight champ
Hasim Rahman beat him in a 10-round decision. He was knocked out by
IBF #1 contender
Alexander Povetkin in Moscow on July 19, 2008. ==Professional boxing record==