History will be made on Saturday when Oleksandr Usyk defends his status as the best heavyweight in the world against Rico Verhoeven.

The Usyk vs Verhoeven fight is the contender’s second professional boxing fight. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

Verhoeven is nicknamed the “King of Kickboxing” and his professional kickboxing record is 54-10 with 16 stoppages along the way.

He was born in the Netherlands and made his professional debut at the age of only 16.

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The Dutchman is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, kickboxers of all time. In 2014, he became the GLORY heavyweight champion of the world.

The 37-year-old dominated and defended the title for over a decade.

‘𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐈𝐋𝐄’ 𓁀

Who takes it home @WBCBoxing, @usykaa Or @RicoVerhoeven ? #UsykVerhoeven pic.twitter.com/0z4h8e66zy

— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) May 21, 2026

He is respected in the kickboxing world for his elite cardio skills, technical skills and fighting IQ, and is known to many for his celebrated rivalry with Badr Hari, a man he stopped twice in three years.

Verhoeven is 6 feet 5 inches and has a reach of 200 cm compared to his opponent Usyk who is 6 feet 3 inches and has a reach of 198 cm.

Despite challenging a man who is considered by many to be boxing’s number one, this will be only Verhoeven’s second professional boxing fight.

𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐊𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑 𝐔𝐒𝐘𝐊 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐃

Will be @usykaa add a victory over a kickboxing legend to his already impressive heavyweight resume, @RicoVerhoeven ? #UsykVerhoeven pic.twitter.com/XMpPrWG9ZK

— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) May 20, 2026

The only time he stepped into the squared circle was in 2014, before he won either of his kickboxing titles.

In Germany, he faced Janos Finfera 0:5 and made no mistake, stopping his opponent in the second round.

His fight with the Ukrainian will take place in front of ul Pyramids of Gizathe first spectacle in this sport, which should prove to be a historic spectacle.

OLEKSANDR USYK RICO VERHOEVEN – FIRST RETURN IN FIGHT WEEK #usykverhoeven pic.twitter.com/9BqobLOzHz

— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) May 19, 2026

The event was organized by Turki Alalshikh and The Ring Magazine and will be broadcast live on DAZN pay-per-view.

For the past decade, Verhoeven has worked with a highly respected boxing coach Piotr Furywhich helped develop his boxing skills into his kickboxing career.

Verhoeven and Fury have both talked about how beneficial it has been to focus solely on boxing for the past six months; was originally set to face Anthony Joshua.

The entry Who is Rico Verhoeven? Meet Oleksandr Usyk’s next opponent appeared first on ProBoxing-Fans.com.

Tyson Fury has suggested that there will be a shocking fight with Zlatan Ibrahimovic later this year.

Fury is a two-time world heavyweight champion and Ibrahimovic has never had a professional boxing fight.

He informed about it A place of stomping earlier that morning, both the “Gypsy King” and the retired soccer star met in Warsaw.

Goldstar’s James Ward shared multiple photos from the pair’s reunion, where you could imagine them dining together at restaurants with a enormous film crew in attendance, likely filming footage for the confirmed third installment of his hit Netflix series Fury’s House of Fury.

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Just hours after posting the photos, both Fury and Ibrahimovic shared a post on Instagram suggesting a fight between them.

𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗬 𝗡𝗢𝗧?

“MOST IMPORTANT NEWS! ON AUGUST 1ST in Dublin, Ireland, @Tyson_Fury @Turki_alalshikh @Ibra_oficjalna #makingboxinggreatain” pic.twitter.com/di9o0wbaao

— Professional boxing fans (@ProBoxingFans) May 21, 2026

The caption on their post read: “BREAKING NEWS! AUGUST 1 in Dublin, Ireland, @tysonfury @turki #makingboxinggreatagain.”

While many fans initially thought the post was a joke, Turki Alalshikha’s recent matchmaking means some fans are taking the possibility seriously.

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On Saturday, Alalshikh and The Ring Magazine host another shocking contest for the two-time undisputed heavyweight champion of the worldN Aleksander Usyk will face a kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in front of the Giza pyramids.

Usyk is the main favorite, but Fury would probably be an even bigger favorite if the fight with Ibrahimovic comes to fruition.

The football star has previously hinted at a possible boxing crossover with Sun sport claiming to have spoken to Misfits Boxing in October 2024.

Misfits promoter Mams Taylor has spoken out about the possibility of Ibrahimovic fighting.

“I tried to convince Zlatan and he can fight. I’m good friends with his manager and the three of us talked on FaceTime.

“It was really nippy because he saw a lot of Misfits fights and followed them. He was a kickboxer and would have been good too.

“But yes, there are other names that are not as renowned as these guys, but they are still very respected and have achieved a lot that is of interest.

“And since it’s so realistic that these guys will fight, I won’t mention their names.”

‘The Gypsy King’ will face long-time rival Anthony Joshua at the end of the year after they have been on a collision course for over a decade, but Fury has stated he would like one more fight before facing ‘AJ’.

Rumors began to circulate that Fury’s next fight would take place about a week or two after Joshua’s fight against Kristian Prenga on July 25.

In the absence of official confirmation of the event, the reality of this fight remains unknown, but Fury and Ibrahimovic clearly suggest that it will take place in Dublin.

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