Oleksandr Usyk will return to the ring this Saturday, 23 May, to face kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The unified heavyweight champion's first fight in nearly 12 months will be broadcast live on DAZN, with the main event ringwalks expected at approximately 10.48pm BST.
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) last fought in July 2025, knocking out Daniel Dubois to become a two-time world heavyweight champion. Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO) is a kickboxing great with a 66-10 record in that discipline, but his sole professional boxing bout came in 2014. A win on Saturday would deliver him the WBC belt and rank as one of boxing's biggest shocks.
At a press conference in London, Verhoeven expressed confidence in his power, stating: 'When I land my best punch on him, of course, he will go down because it's a 20-kilo weight difference. It's like a built-up cruiserweight. I'm a naturally born heavyweight. So that's a big difference.'
UK coverage begins at 6pm BST on DAZN. The fight is available as a pay-per-view for £24.99, or included at no extra cost with a DAZN Ultimate subscription (£22.99 per month on a 12-month contract). Amazon customers can also stream via DAZN's Prime Video channel.
