Boxing
Rico Verhoeven opens his title fight with one professional fight
Verhoeven is 36 years senior, 6-foot-4, weighs approximately 269 pounds and has built a career in kickboxing. At Glory, he won 26 straight and held the heavyweight title for years. Fourteen championship titles. A long reign based on fitness, knees and combinations thrown with the shin guards in mind. None of this translates into a twelve-round championship fight scored by boxing judges who expect spotless strikes, command in the ring and effective aggression.
He has one boxing victory to his credit. One. Against Janos Finfer, who has never won a fight. This is the full biography of Oleksandr Usyk’s professional boxing behind the ring.
Peter Fury assures there will be no shame.
“People have to get behind this fight because I can tell you now: I will definitely not be on the world stage [and] I embarrass myself and my warrior.”
It has doubled.
“My fighter is a stern fighter, so it will be a great fight. Trust me. Usyk is an amazing champion. I respect him as a fighter, a boxer and I respect him as a person.”
And then the closer they get.
“And I respect Rico. So I’m going to do my job and I’m going to enjoy it, regardless of the outcome, that’s what it will be.”
It’s a balanced conversation and it has to be that way. Anyone who truly understands how elite Usyk is knows what awaits in the ring. His footwork changes the angle by an inch, his feints spark reactions before punches leave his shoulder, and his jab dictates the pace of the round. When you send a kickboxing champion to solve this problem, try to speak calmly. You can’t sell panic.
One sanctioned defense, one professional boxing victory and the WBC calls it special
The WBC approved this by resorting to the “special circumstances” clause, a useful part of the rule book that usually comes up when the usual standards seem inconvenient.
Heavyweight title fights are usually reserved for fighters who are high in the rankings and have proven themselves in the qualifying rounds. Verhoeven has none in boxing. The WBC decided that one professional fight against an undefeated opponent was enough to prepare for a championship opportunity. “Special” seems to cover a lot of ground.
Verhoeven reportedly spent some time working on his jab. Good. He’ll need it. Usyk’s entire heavyweight streak has been built on discipline, angles and a lead hand that makes opponents turn. Without a robust lead hand, you spend the night reaching for a moving target and punching the air.
Kickboxing builds endurance and timing. Boxing reveals technical flaws early. The lethargic jab is taken away. The square stance is rotated. You miss your lead hand and eat the counter.
The twelve rounds of the championship focus on craftsmanship and fitness in the ring. You have to hold position, work behind the jab and keep your feet under you while the other man sets the traps.
What happens when Usyk starts controlling the range and avoiding the lead leg? How long will it be before Verhoeven’s position begins to become clear?
Verhoeven’s size will be mentioned. Tyson Fury came in heavier and taller, and yet he was reaching for Usyk, eating left hands.
Verhoeven learns on the job.
He also handed over a contract with the UFC. This detail tells you something about the business calculation. Boxing ring under the Pyramids of Giza, pay-per-view DAZN, and the WBC belt is at stake. Payday will overshadow everything about his lone professional boxing appearance. He didn’t earn it through qualifiers or rankings. He accepted the offer when it landed on his desk. And who could blame him?
If the heavyweight champion offers you eight figures to find out if your jab can withstand the pressure of the championship, you sign the contract.
Verhoeven has never shared the ring with someone close to Oleksandr Usyk’s level.
Peter Fury can strengthen his guard. He can drill the jab. He can ask his man to work the weighty bag with straight right and left hooks thrown in succession. The only thing she can’t give him is twenty professional boxing fights full of scars and solving problems in the ring under great pressure.
If Verhoeven has any success, it will be early, when his size and strength are still fresh. Once this gets into the later rounds, it will turn into a boxing lesson and a successful evening for Usyk.
Usyk is expected to walk away with the belt. The real question is whether Verhoeven will last the distance or discover just how ruthless elite boxing can be.
Date: May 23
Start time: 7pm ET (US ET) / 12pm UK
Streaming platform: DAZN PPV
Location: Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Fight card: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven (WBC heavyweight champion)
Ben Whittaker’s next few months are already taking shape following his quick knockout victory in Liverpool, and Adam Smith outlines a busy summer schedule that should finally see the delicate heavyweight fighter face stronger tests
Smith said Whittaker is expected to return to the United States in overdue June on the Jaron “Boots” Ennis card, then return to the UK in the summer for a major date in his hometown of Birmingham.
Whittaker stopped Brian Suarez in two rounds last weekend and performed brilliantly throughout, adding another early finish to the stretch that helped rebuild attention around him after his first fight with Liam Cameron ended in a draw.
Smith said the June outing would support expose Whittaker to a wider audience ahead of a bigger national night later in the year.
“He will fight at the end of June in America at the Boots Ennis gala. That’s good. Show him to a global audience. Then he will come back here in overdue summer, maybe early September and fight in Birmingham in a huge fight,” Adam Smith said in an interview with Sport Boxing.
Smith also named British opponents who could be next, naming Lyndon Arthur, Brad Rea and Craig Richards as possible options once Whittaker returns home.
Smith believes that in the long term, bigger domestic fights with Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yard should come within the next year if Whittaker continues to win.
“Buatsis and Yards need to be delivered within the next 6-12 months.”
Whittaker has had a lot of notoriety since turning pro, but the activity and matchmaking are looking more grave now. The next two fights should tell more than the first ten.
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Last updated: 24/04/2026 at 17:38
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