So the question is: what options does injured player Rico Verhoeven have to appeal against the referee’s decision? Under the rules of the World Boxing Council (WBC), the sanctioning body for boxing, the Council has the power to correct sedate injustices suffered by aggrieved fighters during major world title fights. Moreover, there is precedent in this case. In 2022, the WBC officially awarded the super featherweight world championship belt to Jeff Fenech, 30 years after his controversial 1991 defeat to Azumah Nelson.

Of course, it would be foolish to suggest that Verhoeven should wait 30 years to make amends and win the world heavyweight title. It can therefore be argued that the WBC Board of Governors should now call a Special Meeting to discuss the Usyk vs. Verhoeven world title fight due to the confusion the result has caused among commentators, fans and even fighters. Everyone is united that this fight was stopped too early.

It is worth noting that current WBC welterweight world champion Ryan Garcia, who was at ringside, claims that the fight was stopped after the end of the 11th round. Others wrote the same on YouTube, with one irate fan even suggesting that the Usyk vs. Verhoeven fight was rigged.

There is a belief, rightly or wrongly, that it would be unacceptable for a professional kickboxer with only one professional fight as a heavyweight boxer to defeat a reigning world heavyweight boxing champion with significantly more heavyweight boxing experience. In tiny, boxing would be seen as a joke in the eyes of many if Verhoeven was allowed to beat Usyk.

But facts are facts. After round 10, the three judges’ scorecards were 95-95, 95-95 and 96-94 in favor of Rico Verhoeven. Round 11 does not count because it was not completed properly and the referee wrongly stopped the fight after the bell.

Politics is present in every workplace. It would be a pity if politics also appeared in professional boxing. To counter this impression, the WBC must do the right thing. A No Contest verdict for this fight will not be enough as it will leave Oleksandr Usyk as the WBC champion. Something more radical needs to be done.

The WBC needs to convince the outside world that anyone can become heavyweight champion of the world if given the opportunity. The WBC sanctioned this boxing fight.

Verhoeven won on points. At the end of the 11th round, Verhoeven was still in doubt. The fight was unfairly stopped. The conclusion is therefore straightforward and will mark a progressive step in professional boxing.

Rico Verhoeven is the modern world heavyweight boxing champion. But it would have sounded better if Michael Buffer had been allowed to make this announcement.

Romer Cherubiny
Independent journalist
Great Britain

Vasily Lomachenko can win the world title outright, but only if he decides to fight at 130 pounds.

Either way, the 38-year-old is expected to return to action later this year after his contract with Top Rank expired earlier this month.

As a promotional free agent, “Loma” is expected to fight for the first time since May 2024, when he earned an 11th-round victory over George Kambosos Jr.

Lomachenko thus won the IBF lightweight title after previously being a three-division world champion, with his last 10 professional appearances coming at 135 pounds.

While many expect him to return to lightweight, perhaps in pursuit of a showdown with Gervonta Davis, the Ukrainian could potentially be tempted by a chance at 130 pounds.

In other words, he will get an immediate shot at the world title against unified champion Emanuel Navarrete, who is falling from a dominant position Final in the 11th round against Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez.

This, in turn, led to the unification of the WBO and IBF titles, although it is unclear what options the Mexican is considering for his next fight.

However, one of them may be a fight with Lomachenko, and WBO president Gustavo Olivieri will share his thoughts on this matter via social media.

“Lomachenko is back and if he wants to fight at 130 pounds with Navarrete, I’m sure the WBO Executive Committee [will approve their fight].

“In delicate of his professional merits – [two-time] Olympic [gold] medalist, multi-division champion, WBO super champion, future Hall of Famer – I’m sure the acceptance will be unanimous.”

WBO President Gustavo Olivieri reiterated that should Team Loma formally pursue a head-to-head fight against Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, the matter would be seriously considered by the Executive Committee, given Lomachenko’s legacy as a three-division WBO world champion and one of… pic.twitter.com/ZJy3qTcU3P

— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) May 21, 2026

While a fight with Lomachenko could make sense for both sides, super featherweight contender Charly Suarez will be demanding a mandatory shot against Navarrete if he makes his next fight against Manuel Avila on July 11.

Author: Sean Crose

When I was a teenage man growing up in Waterbury, Connecticut, in the 1970s and 1980s, sports were king. It seemed like every kid in the neighborhood played on the basketball or baseball team. Fathers, perhaps disappointed that their dreams had not come true, could actually be harsh with their sons and daughters. As a teenage man in Waterbury, I played sports too, but what I loved…what I really loved…was boxing. The problem, of course, was that my mother wouldn’t let me box at the local boys club. If I wanted to box, I had to watch it on TV.

Which I did constantly every chance I got. I really wanted to see boxing live, but as a child my father wasn’t too keen on me being part of the very adult boxing audience. There was no live boxing in Waterbury either. It just wasn’t there. You would think so. Waterbury was a tough town, but unfortunately there was no way to watch professional fights live and in person. Willie Pep once had about 20,000 people in Waterbury Municipal Stadium, but that was long before I was born. There were a lot of boxing fans in Waterbury, but not a lot of boxing fans.

Fortunately, everything will change soon, because on June 6, professional boxing will finally return to Waterbury, and Mike “The Savage” Kimbel will be the main character of the gala at the legendary Palace Theater. To make things even more compelling, Kimbel is from Waterbury himself, so he’ll be performing for a hometown crowd. Of course, the youngster has a lot to lose, but the local player is confident.

“The intensity is still high,” he tells me when I ask how he’s doing as training comes to an end. Originally, one of the opponents was supposed to face Kimbel, but it didn’t work out that way. “He became just like a ghost,” Kimbel says. Fortunately, a up-to-date opponent will step in, which will be good for the teenage athlete hoping to impress his hometown fans.

“I feel amazing,” Kimbel says of the Waterbury fight. He also admitted that the June 6 card was associated with “a bit of the word ‘I told you so’.” Like many teenage children growing up in hard cities and towns, Kimbel had hard times. Suffice it to say, his mother was not joyful with the direction her son’s life was heading.

“My mom was fed up with it,” Kimbel says. Determined to keep her son straight and narrow, Kimbel’s mother took him to the gym. “It kept me out of trouble,” he says. And then some. Kimbel first made a name for himself in mixed martial arts, becoming a Bellator fighter. Eventually, however, he found himself in the squared circle he had always dreamed of.

“It was supposed to be overtime,” he says of his real-life experience in the ring. Needless to say, he fell in love with the sport. “I have always been a huge boxing fan,” he says. Indeed, Kimbel believes that his time in mixed martial arts has done him good. “It carried over,” he tells me. It certainly seems to be the case. Kimbel’s movements in the ring are characterized by natural fluidity. He has an excellent jab that allows him to unleash a powerful law.

However, Kimbel makes it clear that his boxing endeavors are about more than just glory. “I started it for my son,” he says. He also spends time with younger players through the Police Athletic League. “You can see the change in their eyes,” he says of how children, like he once did, began to become familiar with the sport.

While his upcoming performance in Waterbury is satisfying in its own right, Kimbel still feels he still has a lot of growing to do as a professional boxer. “History is still being written,” he says.