Oleksandr Usyk retained his heavyweight world titles after a dramatic and highly controversial stoppage victory over Rico Verhoeven in Egypt on Saturday night.
The Ukrainian champion defeated the Dutch kickboxing star in the 11th round at a spectacular outdoor event staged beside the Pyramids of Giza, but the referee’s decision to halt the fight sparked immediate debate.
Many expected Usyk to dominate comfortably against Verhoeven, who entered the bout with just one previous professional boxing match. Instead, the 37-year-old kickboxing legend pushed the unbeaten champion harder than almost anyone in recent years.
Verhoeven applied pressure from the opening rounds and repeatedly caught Usyk with clean right hands, forcing the 39-year-old champion into an unusually difficult contest. The Dutch challenger’s movement and aggression appeared to trouble Usyk throughout much of the fight.
Usyk found success with uppercuts and combinations in the later rounds, eventually dropping Verhoeven with a sharp left uppercut in the 11th. Although Verhoeven beat the count and attempted to continue, the referee stepped in after a late flurry from Usyk with just seconds remaining in the round.
The stoppage immediately drew criticism, with many believing Verhoeven should have been allowed to continue into the final round. Scorecards at the time showed the fight extremely close, with two judges scoring it 95-95 and the third giving Verhoeven a 96-94 lead.
“This fight was hard. It was a good fight,” Usyk said after the bout.
Verhoeven was visibly disappointed by the ending and called the stoppage premature.
“I wanted the referee to let me go out on my shield or let me go in the 12th,” he said. “I felt we were pretty even on the scorecards.”
The event attracted several major boxing figures, including Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Anthony Joshua and Gennady Golovkin, while actor Jason Statham also attended ringside after reportedly helping arrange the fight.
Despite the loss, Verhoeven earned praise for exceeding expectations in only his second boxing appearance. His performance drew comparisons to Francis Ngannou’s strong showing against Tyson Fury before the MMA star later lost to Joshua.
Usyk successfully defended his WBC and WBA “super” heavyweight titles, while the IBF did not officially sanction its belt for the crossover bout.
Attention now turns to what comes next for the Ukrainian champion. WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel entered the ring after the fight to challenge Usyk and proposed a showdown in Germany.
Usyk accepted the idea immediately, saying: “Let’s do it, no problem. I am ready, brother.”