Usyk stops Verhoeven in thrilling fashion to keep belts
GIZA – Before Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven stepped in the ring to face each other, the odds were highly in the favor of the unified heavyweight champion as Usyk was as much as a 50 to 1 favorite. After a series of rounds took place, the fans in attendance at Giza and those viewing it around the world may have been minutes away from a monumental upset.
Verhoeven seemed to get the better of Usyk for the majority of the fight, landing timely right hands and constantly moving around the ring giving the Ukrainian a difficult time. The activity from the former kickboxer surprised many and Usyk was having issues landing combinations through eight rounds. It took until the tenth round for Usyk to be more successful in landing his left hand on Verhoeven and then in the eleventh round he landed a right uppercut to put Verhoeven on the canvas. Referee Mark Lyson gave Verhoeven a count, but he was able to get up.
Before the fight resumed, Verhoeven went to his corner as his mouthpiece came out during the knockdown. Usyk used the momentum that he had scored the knockdown with and threw a flurry of punches with Verhoeven on the ropes to force the referee to stop the bout right before the end of the eleventh round.
“This fight was hard,” Usyk said after the win. “Rico is an amazing fighter. He is difficult to prepare for, but this was a good fight.”
He wasn’t sure that he needed a knockout to win the bout in the eleventh round but his boxing skill got him the victory.
“I just used my right uppercut to knock him down. It’s just boxing.”
For Verhoeven, it seemed like he was close to doing the unthinkable. While he was hurt from the knockdown, it was a few seconds away from the end of the round. He felt that the decision by the referee to stop the bout was premature.
“I thought it was an early stoppage,” Verhoeven said. “I believe the referee knew that it was almost the end of the round so he should have let it go. It was so close, so either let me go out on my shield or see what happens in the last round.”
Moments after the bout was over, the judges scorecards were provided and it showed how close the fight was going into the eleventh round. Two judges had it even, and one judge had it 96-94 in favor of Verhoeven. Usyk likely had to win the last two rounds in order to get a decision.
Soon after the bout was done, there was talk as to who would be next for Usyk. Agit Kabayel was in attendance and made his case as he is the WBC interim champion, but given how close this fight was there may be a demand for a rematch.
Photos by Mark Robinson of Matchroom Boxing
