Usyk keeps titles with controversial Verhoeven stoppage

· BBC Sport
Rico Verhoeven (left) was competing for just the second time as a professional boxerMatchroom

ByKal Sajad
BBC Sport boxing journalist
Published

Oleksandr Usyk struck lucky to retain his world heavyweight titles in Egypt with a highly controversial 11th-round stoppage win against boxing novice Rico Verhoeven.

Verhoeven, in just his second professional boxing fight, was the clear aggressor for long spells, stunning generational great Usyk in a way nobody expected.

In a surprisingly tight contest, Ukrainian Usyk produced a late surge and landed a sharp left uppercut that sent the Dutchman to the canvas.

Verhoeven beat the count, but a follow-up flurry in the closing seconds of the round prompted the referee to step in and wave it off - a decision that looked extremely harsh on the challenger.

The scorecards at the time of the fight coming to a halt read 95-95, 95-95 and 96-94 to Verhoeven.

"This fight was hard. It was a good fight," Usyk said.

In a contest many expected to expose the gulf between elite boxing pedigree and crossover ambition, unbeaten Usyk looked uncharacteristically laboured.

The 39-year-old - a three-time undisputed champion who ruled at cruiserweight and heavyweight - found a way to win his 25th professional fight, but his opponent questioned the outcome.

Kickboxing legend Verhoeven, 37, described it as an "early stoppage" and called for a rematch but said it was up to Usyk.

"I wanted the referee to let me go out on my shield or let me go in the 12th. I felt we were pretty even on the scorecards," Verhoeven said.

Usyk's WBC title was on the line, with the bout also counting as a defence of his WBA 'super' belt - although Verhoeven would not have been eligible to win that version of the title in the event of an upset.

The IBF granted permission for the contest but did not sanction its belt.

Lethargic Usyk survives major scare

The Pyramids of Giza loomed over a purpose-built open-air arena for one of boxing's most unusual world title fights in recent memory.

A kickboxing heavyweight legend who ruled his sport for more than 4,000 days, Verhoeven sprinted to the ring at around 01:10 local time, flanked by performers dressed as Egyptian pharaohs, before Usyk emerged in a gladiator-style outfit complete with a golden helmet.

Verhoeven, who insisted his unpredictability could trouble Usyk, made a lively start with constant movement and energy, landing a solid right hand to the body.

Usyk responded with a sharp double uppercut in the second, but Verhoeven absorbed it well and fired back with two right hands of his own.

Boxing royalty including Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin and Anthony Joshua watched on from ringside, alongside Hollywood star Jason Statham - the man credited with helping to bring the fight together.

Another right hand from Verhoeven landed flush on Usyk in the third round.

Usyk - so often the sport's master of patience - was forced to dig deep. He briefly responded in the fourth, hurting Verhoeven with a straight right and stinging left.

"Get back to your boxing, you're getting too greedy, trying to land and getting caught," Verhoeven's trainer Peter Fury warned his man.

Verhoeven entered the sixth round for the first time in his fighting career - kickboxing bouts are capped at five rounds, and his only previous professional boxing fight ended inside two.

He stuck to the trainer's instruction and a lethargic Usyk was rocked again in the eighth by a right hand, but the champion came alive in the 10th and 11th, unleashing a flurry of punches and repeatedly finding the uppercut - the shot that had given him his most success all night.

Verhoeven spat out his gumshield while Usyk immediately protested at the added time his opponent was given to recover.

Usyk surged again and sensed the finish. Verhoeven was visibly hurt and a stoppage may have come in the 12th round had the fight continued.

Arguably, Verhoeven should have been allowed the chance to see it through.

Instead, the referee stepped in and waved off what will go down as a contentious stoppage.

Rematch or Kabayel - what next for Usyk?

The pre-fight feeling was that this occasion bordered on the absurd as a sanctioned world title contest, but Verhoeven went a long way to proving the boxing fraternity wrong.

"I am super proud of my performance, and hopefully the boxing world embraces me as a boxer. I am amazingly happy to be here," Verhoeven said.

He emerged with huge credit, underlining his credentials as an awkward, physical operator for any heavyweight.

But was this his best chance, fuelled by the element of surprise?

The crossover blueprint is familiar, with Francis Ngannou famously going close to an extraordinary win against Tyson Fury in 2023 before being stopped early on by Anthony Joshua in his second outing.

Usyk's stock, for the first time in his career, with take a hit on the back of this - and debate around the result and a potential second meeting is only likely to intensify.

Afterwards, WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel entered the ring to make his case.

"I have waited so long for this fight. I am ready and I think Germany is ready for the fight. Let's do it in a German stadium. I think all the fans want it," Kabayel said.

Usyk, who has previously suggested he may have two more fights after Verhoeven, responded: "Let's do it, no problem. I am ready, brother."

Whatever comes next, Usyk endured the toughest night of his career against a man few in boxing gave a chance.

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