Oleksandr Usyk, Ukraine's unbeaten heavyweight world champion, stopped Dutch former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven with one second remaining in the 11th round on Saturday, avoiding what would have been one of the biggest boxing upsets of all time. The WBC title fight at the pyramids of Giza was considered a mismatch, but Verhoeven, whose sole previous professional boxing fight was 12 years ago, tore up the script from the opening bell and appeared on course to win.
Verhoeven's jerky style, bulldozing aggression and powerful right hand troubled a sluggish-looking Usyk for most of the fight. He started well, landing vicious right hands in the opening round. Usyk struggled to find his range, though he had a good fourth round, rocking Verhoeven with an uppercut. As the rounds ticked down, everyone waited for Usyk to assert his superiority, but that did not come until the end of the 11th.
In a chaotic ending, Usyk dropped the challenger late in the 11th round with a flush right hand that sent Verhoeven down and through the ropes. Once he was up, Usyk unleashed a barrage. Verhoeven looked as if he would be saved by the bell until the referee intervened and waved it off after Usyk pounced when Verhoeven beat the count. With so little time left in the round, it was a hugely controversial call.
“I thought it was an early stoppage but in the end it’s not up to me,” Verhoeven told Dazn moments later while still in the ring. “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.” He said he was thankful for the opportunity and revealed that Usyk had offered him a rematch. “I am super proud of my performance and hopefully the boxing world embraces me as a boxer,” he added.
“I know right now, Ukrainian people are sitting in the bomb shelter, my daughter too, in a bomb shelter, sent me a message saying, ‘Papa, I love you, you will win’,” said Usyk. “Thank you so much, Rico. You are an amazing fighter. Thank you so much to your team. My team, I love you. My wife, I love you. You are my light and my heart. This fight was hard. It was a good fight.”
