Rico Verhoeven has warned Oleksandr Usyk that he only showed a 'few tools' in their contested heavyweight clash, insisting he can capitalise in a rematch. The Dutch kickboxing legend ended his glittering career last year to try his luck in boxing and was quickly offered a fight against the Ukrainian at the Pyramids of Giza.
Despite having just one prior bout in the squared circle, Verhoeven stunned the boxing world by going toe-to-toe with Usyk before being controversially stopped in the 11th round. The stoppage appeared to occur after the bell had sounded, leaving fans enraged, and Verhoeven was ahead on one of the three judges' scorecards at the time.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Verhoeven said: "I like to believe there is a world where maybe he wasn't at his best, I was doing really well, and those two things came together to make the fight look the way it did. I definitely hurt him in different spots, especially to the body. Not hurt to the point where I was close to getting him out of there, but the next day, he will have felt that. This is just me opening the toolbox. I only showed a few tools. There are multiple ways we can fight Usyk. The next one, again, is going to be a surprise."
The 37-year-old believes he had a commanding lead before the stoppage. On the Ariel Helwani Show, he said open scorecards left him suspicious: "There were open scorecards and after four rounds, they said we're even. I was like, 'Hmm, ok.' I felt like it was at least three to one, but ok, we're even, that's fine. Then we got the scorecards again after another four rounds and still we were even. It started to feel fishy because I felt like I was winning these rounds." He scored the contest "somewhere 8-2" after ten rounds, adding: "I look at certain rounds, and I’m like, 'How did I lose that?' He didn’t even touch me, maybe more than once or twice, and I hit him four, five, six times."
Despite the setback, Verhoeven is not considering retirement and remains eager for high-profile bouts. "I'm open to seeing what opportunities become available because I've been reached out to by the whole world. It's been crazy," he said. "I just want to make the biggest fights - big fights at crazy locations. We draw a bunch of viewers. They've seen what we're capable of, and they see I'm one of the top box-office stars. It's not up to me who I fight next. It's up to the organisation. Who do they want to see me against? I'll be ready to fight anybody - anybody." Usyk, who claims he will have only two more fights before retiring, is expected to face Agit Kabayel next.
