Rico Verhoeven’s challenge to the controversial stoppage of his heavyweight world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk has been rejected, though officials acknowledged the bout was halted after the bell had already sounded.
The Dutch kickboxing star revealed that an appeal commission reviewed the ending of the contest in Egypt on 23 May and confirmed that the referee stopped the fight after the bell marked the end of the 11th round. However, the commission concluded that the timing issue did not alter the final result.
Verhoeven, 37, suffered defeat in only his second professional boxing appearance after facing unified heavyweight champion Usyk. Despite entering the fight as a relative newcomer to the sport, Verhoeven produced a highly competitive performance and troubled the unbeaten Ukrainian throughout much of the contest.
The fight took a dramatic turn late in the 11th round when Usyk, 39, increased the pressure and knocked Verhoeven down. The Dutchman beat the count and continued, but the referee intervened moments later following another attacking sequence from Usyk. The stoppage immediately sparked debate, with many observers believing Verhoeven had been denied the opportunity to continue.
According to Verhoeven, the appeal hearing confirmed that both the official timekeeper and the ringside doctor provided evidence supporting key aspects of his protest. The timekeeper stated that the bell had already sounded before the referee officially waved off the fight, while the doctor reported that Verhoeven showed no signs of confusion or disorientation after the bout.
Despite those findings, the commission ruled that the circumstances did not justify overturning the result.
At the time of the stoppage, the judges’ scorecards reflected how closely contested the fight had been. Two judges had the contest level at 95-95, while the third scored it 96-94 in Verhoeven’s favour.
Verhoeven stressed that his appeal was not intended to diminish Usyk’s achievement, describing the Ukrainian as one of the finest fighters of his era and a champion who has become undisputed at two weight classes.
However, he expressed frustration that the contest ended before reaching its natural conclusion. Verhoeven argued that after 11 highly competitive rounds, fans deserved to see a decisive final round and called for an immediate rematch to settle the matter.
The Dutchman said the commission’s decision resolved the legal aspects of the case but left unanswered questions about how the fight would have concluded had it continued to the final bell.
Verhoeven ended his statement with a direct message to the champion, declaring that he would be ready if Usyk agreed to run the fight back.
Usyk remains undefeated as a professional boxer, extending his record to 25 victories.