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Usyk, Verhoeven and Alalshikh react after Giza stoppage

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The reaction came quickly after Oleksandr Usyk’s 11th-round stoppage of Rico Verhoeven at the Giza Pyramids on Saturday, with the winner, loser and heavyweight architects weighing in on the outcome and what would come next.

Usyk dedicates the victory to Ukraine

Usyk briefly outlined his immediate assessment. “I’m winning, that’s good,” he said. He then turned to his opponent. “Rico is an amazing fighter. He prepared very well. It was a tough fight. He’s a threatening guy. Substantial, forceful, full of heart. Respect for him.”

A Ukrainian whose family is still affected by the war in the country said his daughter contacted her before the official result was announced. “My people are under bombs right now. My daughter is in a bomb shelter and she texted me, ‘Dad, I love you. You win.’ She was scared but ecstatic. This victory belongs to the entire Ukrainian nation.” He added: “Thank you, my Lord Jesus Christ.”

When asked about his future, Usyk again raised the prospect of fighting Tyson Fury, who has been retired since early 2025. “I’m sure Tyson Fury is not retired. He wants this fight, I want this fight. We’ll see,” Usyk said. “I have two, maybe three fights left.”

Verhoeven: “I showed I belonged”

Verhoeven, who was competing in just his second professional boxing fight, felt the fight was tighter than the ending suggested. “I thought the fight was close and maybe even close in the later rounds,” he said. He accepted referee Mark Lyson’s decision, noting he was still on his feet with seconds until the bell, and called the evening a learning experience.

“I came here to shock the world and showed that I belong to this team. Usyk is the best for a reason. Huge respect,” said Verhoeven. He made it clear that he intended to stay in the sport. “I’m here to stay as a boxer. I’m not here to compete, I’m here to take control.”

Verhoeven’s coach, Peter Fury, said the break was fair, adding that his fighter was exhausted and would likely have been stopped in the 12th round anyway.

Alalshikh looks to Germany and Istanbul

Turki Alalshikh immediately moved on to Usyk’s next steps, confirming that he will meet with the champion to discuss a potential fight with Agit Kabayel in Germany in delayed 2026. He also announced a bigger event for Usyk in Istanbul, near Hagia Sophia, in 2027.

Kabayel, the WBC interim heavyweight champion, has long been pushing for this fight. “Usyk will have to fight me next,” he said. “Normally he has to fight me, Usyk. I hope I’ll be next in line.” Kabayel called Saturday’s fight a spectacle rather than a real sporting test, calling it an “exhibition fight.”

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Adam Azim vs Steve Claggett match results

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Adam Azim and Steve Claggett featured in promotional artwork for their super lightweight main event at Wembley Arena in London with live results coverage from World Boxing News.

World Boxing News has live results from Wembley Arena in London as Adam Azim takes on Steve Claggett in the super lightweight main event on the BBC’s Boxxer card.

Azim returns looking to continue his undefeated streak against battle-tested Canadian veteran Steve Claggett.

The card also features Juergen Uldedaj and undefeated Francesca Hennessy, as well as several emerging British talents in action.

World Boxing News updates the results of each fight in the tab below after the fights are completed.


Azim vs Claggett match results

All times are in UK local time – BST.

21:41

Adam Azim he stopped Steve Claggett in three rounds after defeating the Canadian in the second. Total domination.

21:15

Francesca Hennessy defeated Aurora De Persio by sixth round stoppage to retain the WBC Silver Bantamweight title.

20:13

Another towel thrown in as Joel Kodua defeated Will Harrison and defended the English welterweight title.

19:21

Ergal Elezaj forces the corner to throw in the towel in the fifth round as the heavyweight defeated Dan Garber.

18:59

Saqib Mehmood he scored a knockdown in the first round and even did push-ups during the count before ending the show with a stoppage victory. Mehmood is now 3-0.

18:14

Abdul Khan unleashed a brutal body attack, landing three knockdowns with powerful low shots before the referee stepped in in the second round, waving and waving the fight to an end.

17:29

Derrick Osadolor he dropped Ryan Labor twice before coming in the towel and securing the heavyweight victory.

17:06

Oscar McCracken started the action with a four-round knockout of Steven Wallace in the welterweight division Mohammad Bilal Ali moved to 11-1.


Azim vs. Claggett

Azim enters the main event at Wembley Arena with a perfect 14-0 record and another chance to move closer to world title contention.

Claggett arrives with much more experience and has shared the ring with an elite team over the course of a career spanning over fifty professional competitions.

All fights will be updated as results come in throughout the night, and more live coverage will be available on World Boxing News.


Premises: Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, UK
Order: British Boxing Board of Control
Promoter: Boxxer (Ben Shalom)
Program: DAZN, BBC Two (UK)


About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

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Boxing

Cuban sunset: Rigondeaux and Gamboa

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Image: A Cuban Sunset: Rigondeaux and Gamboa

Rigondeaux will face Jose Velasquez (34-13-3, 24 KO), and Gamboa will face Alexander Espinoza (20-5-1, 9 KO). The two icons of Cuban boxing, the twin headliners, are almost a hundred years ancient together; Gamboa is 45 years ancient and Rigondeaux is 44. Although both men are near the end of their careers, both Cuban migrants have achieved a lot in boxing.

Cuban citizens fleeing their homeland is not uncommon, and sports are no exception. Especially in baseball and boxing, many athletes left the island in pursuit of a professional career. The amateur boxing system in Cuba is legendary. One of the greatest Cuban boxers of all time, Teofilmo Stevenson, was so in love with his homeland that he never left it. Despite offers from promoters salivating at the prospect of Stevenson fighting Muhammad Ali, Stevenson became famed for saying, “What’s a million dollars compared to the love of eight million Cubans?”

Rigondeaux was born in Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city on the island. Rigondeaux is a two-weight world champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2000 and 2004, and widely considered one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time, with a record of 463-12 in the amateur rankings. Hall of Fame coach Freddie Roach called Rigondeaux “probably the greatest talent I’ve ever seen.”

Rigondeaux was a powerhouse from the beginning of his professional career, becoming the unified junior bantamweight champion and then winning the 126-pound title. His technique and precision were sublime. Rigondeaux then met one of the few players who matched his technical skills, Vasyl Lomachenko.

In December 2017, Rigondeaux moved up two weight classes to challenge Lomachenko at 130 pounds. For the first time, men with two Olympic gold medals competed in the professional ranks. Though both were decorated amateurs, Lomachenko was naturally the bigger man. At the official weigh-in, Rigondeaux weighed 128.4 pounds and Lomachenko weighed 129 pounds. But these numbers don’t tell the whole story. The next day, after both rehydrated, Lomachenko weighed 137.4 pounds and Rigondeaux weighed 130 pounds.

Lomachenko impressively won the fight via TKO in six rounds after Rigondeaux was out for round 7. Rigondeaux said he broke the top of his left hand in the second round. It was Rigondeaux’s first loss since he became an amateur in 2003.

After the loss to Lomachenko, Rigondeaux won three fights in a row before losing the next two in a row. The first was a split decision loss to John Riel Casimero, followed by a unanimous decision defeat to Vincent Astrolabio. Despite a career setback a month later, Rigondeaux avoided a catastrophic, life-changing defeat.

The fact that Rigondeaux is fighting at all now is a minor miracle. In March 2022, he was nearly blinded after an accident at home when a pressure cooker exploded in his face while Rigondeaux was cooking Cuban black beans. Despite suffering severe burns and losing over 80% of his vision, his corneas regrew and fortunately Rigondeaux was able to recover and return to the ring.

Gamboa, a native of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was the world featherweight champion and won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. Before fleeing Cuba, Gamboa sold his gold medal and gave the proceeds to his family.

After his defection, Gamboa, nicknamed El Ciclón de Guantanamo, meaning “The Cyclone of Guantanamo”, began his professional career with 23 straight wins before meeting Terence Crawford.

After losing to Crawford, Gamboa became much less busy. Gamboa has suffered losses in his last three fights, losing to Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and ultimately Isaac Cruz in April 2022. Gamboa was knocked down three times in his fights with Davis and Cruz. Gamboa hung up his gloves. That was until February last year, when he agreed to a contract with BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing. And now we are here at the FTL War Memorial Auditorium.

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Boxing

Live results and results of the Adam Azim vs. Steve Claggett fight

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Adam Azim vs Steve Claggett live scorecard and fight result

Adam Azim will be the main character tonight at Wembley Arena, where one of the brightest youthful talents in British boxing wants to get one step closer to fighting for the world title against the battle-hardened Canadian Steve Claggett.

The undefeated 24-year-old has long been tipped to be at the top, with his speed, timing and finishing skills helping him set a perfect professional record. Last time out, Azim turned in arguably the best performance of his career, stopping former world title challenger Sergei Lipinets from highlighting his credentials at 140 pounds.

Meanwhile, Canadian Claggett arrives as a proven world-class goalkeeper and former title challenger. The 36-year-old shared the ring with Teofimo Lopez last year and could provide an Azima gas tank test.

Azim’s victory will strengthen calls for a world title fight over the next 18 months, with the Slough fighter currently ranked in the top ten of the WBC, WBO and IBF. Defeat, however, would mean a major setback against an opponent brought in to test, not derail, his rise.

Stay with Boxing News for live scores, round-by-round updates and the final result from Wembley Arena.

Live scores of the Adam Azim – Steve Claggett match

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total
Azim 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20
Claggett 9 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17

The result of the fight between Adam Azim and Steve Claggett

Azim TKO 3. Huge impression from Azim, who couldn’t miss with an uppercut. He broke Claggett’s nose in the first, dropped it in the second, and forced referee Victor Loughlin to step in and stop him in the third. The Canadian’s attacking emphasis simply couldn’t work against such a precise and deadly striker as Azim is making his way to world-class level.

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