Kickboxing icon Alistair Overeem has shared his thoughts on whether Rico Verhoeven can defeat Oleksandr Usyk in their upcoming boxing match. Verhoeven, the long-reigning Glory heavyweight champion, will challenge Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title on Saturday at the pyramids of Giza.
Overeem's analysis
Overeem, who previously trained with Verhoeven and was scheduled to fight him multiple times, told The Independent: 'I know Rico quite well. He was in my training camp. We were actually supposed to fight on two or three occasions, so I've had camp on him – a lot of analysis, a lot of training.'
He added: 'He's a strong, big individual, strong mind, solid fighter. I'm quite surprised he's going into the boxing realm, because I thought his hands were not as dangerous; he was known for his kicks. But he has strong cardio and outsmarted kickboxers while training with Peter Fury for 15 years.'
X factors in the fight
Overeem highlighted the element of surprise: 'Nobody has seen Rico box. There's some footage, but what will he do in a real boxing fight? He might have complete new motions and movements. And it's 125kg that you have to process if you're Usyk, so there are still some X factors.'
However, he acknowledged the difficulty: 'I have a feeling it's going to be a tough night for him. It will be difficult for him to land a punch because Usyk is next level.'
Verhoeven's boxing background
Verhoeven has only one professional boxing bout, a win in 2014, but has trained extensively under Peter Fury, uncle of Tyson Fury. Overeem noted that Verhoeven's hands may be underestimated, as he has been boxing for a long time, though against kickboxers with basic boxing skills.
The event
The fight will take place at the pyramids of Giza in Egypt, an unprecedented location for a major boxing event. For Usyk, this is a voluntary title defence; his next mandatory challenger is Agit Kabayel. Verhoeven, 37, has won his last 22 kickboxing fights and reigned as Glory champion for 11 years.
