Boxing
Glory in Giza Preview: Full Card List Usyk vs. Verhoeven
Published
3 months agoon
Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his WBC title against former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23 at the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. The card, branded “Glory in Giza” and promoted by Matchroom, is streaming globally on DAZN pay-per-view and is priced at $59.99 in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom, according to data ESPN. This is the first professional boxing event organized in this historic place. The main card will start at 2:00 PM ET, with main events taking place around 5:48 PM ET and 10:48 PM BST. Below is a fight-by-fight breakdown of the lineup.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven, heavyweight, WBC title
Usyk (24-0, 15 KO) will make his first appearance since a fifth-round stoppage of Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in July 2025, which restored his undisputed status. The 39-year-old Ukrainian holds the WBC, WBA and IBF belts, but only the WBC championship is at stake. The WBA and IBF declined to sanction the fight because Verhoeven is unclassified. Nevertheless, the IBF granted Usyk an exception to compete in what it classified as an unsanctioned competition, with conditions attached: if Usyk lost, the IBF title would be considered vacant, while the WBA indicated that it would retain Usyk as champion regardless of the result. result.
Verhoeven enters the fight with a 1-0 professional boxing record, his lone fight ending in a second-round stoppage of winless Janos Finfera in 2014. The 36-year-old Dutchman held the GLORY heavyweight title for more than 11 years before vacating it in November, and his kickboxing record stands at 66-10 with 21 knockouts. He is 6-foot-10, weighs about 270 pounds and is trained for the fight under Peter Fury, who cornered Tyson Fury in his 2015 victory over Wladimir Klitschko. Verhoeven described his crossover as a stylistic problem that Usyk had not faced. “I will bring something different to the table that he hasn’t seen before,” he said. “He has analyzed the sport of boxing like no one else, but he doesn’t know about the kickboxer who will box.”
Usyk described the fight as a voluntary defense on his own terms after years of mandatory and unification commitments, telling reporters that “size doesn’t matter” while calling Verhoeven a “risky guy.” The consensus among observers definitely favors the champion. Usyk is a 30-1 favorite and the over/under in completed rounds is 5.5. On his podcast, Teddy Atlas acknowledged that Verhoeven has a kickboxing pedigree but dismissed his prospects in the boxing ring, noting that the Dutchman’s high guard and upright stance could leave him open to Usyk’s combinations. The full breakdown, including Atlas’ comments, appeared in Boxing Insider’s fight week coverage.
Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super middleweight title
In this joint fight, Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KO) and undefeated Alem Begic (29-0-1) will fight for the vacant WBO super middleweight title. Sheeraz, 26, fell miniature in his only previous attempt at a world title – a middleweight draw before he started moving up in weight. Begic, a 39-year-old German, faces world-class challenges for the first time. The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds.
Jack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov for the vacant WBA welterweight title
Jack Catterall (32-2, 14 KO) and Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KO) will fight for the vacant WBA welterweight title. Catterall, 32, of Chorley, England, is ranked No. 1 by the WBO at the weight and is coming off an 11th-round knockout of Ekow Essuman in November. He chose the fight rather than wait to fight WBO champion Devin Haney. Giyasov, a 31-year-old Uzbek and former Olympic silver medalist, is a top contender for the WBA title and last fought in November, defeating Mark Urvanov in four rounds. The WBA organization approved the fight for the vacant title after elevating Rolando Romero to the title of super champion.
Frank Sanchez vs. Richard Torrez Jr., heavyweight
Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KO), a 33-year-old Cuban known as “The Cuban Flash”, will fight undefeated American Richard Torrez Jr. for 10 rounds. (14-0, 12 KOs). The fight postponed the IBF heavyweight qualifying match originally scheduled for March 28, but was postponed after Sanchez suffered a knee injury. Torrez, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, goes up against the more experienced Sanchez in his class in a contender-prospect matchup that has weight in the division’s title picture.
Mizuki Hiruta vs. Mai Soliman for the WBO junior bantamweight title
Mizuki Hiruta (10-0), named The Ring’s female fighter of the year, defends her WBO junior bantamweight title for the seventh time against Egyptian-born Australian Mai Soliman (10-1) over 10 rounds. Hiruta (29) won the belt in her fourth professional fight and remains undefeated. Soliman fights in front of his home crowd.
Subtab
In the preliminary part, the lithe heavyweight fight Daniel Lapin (13-0) will face Benjamin Mendes Tani (9-1) over 10 rounds, and the regional championship belts will be at stake. Basem Mamdouh (10-2) meets Jamar Talley (6-0) in the cruiserweight division, and the remaining fights combine domestic and international prospects: Mahmoud Mobark against Michael Kalyalya, Omar Hikal against Ali Sserunkuma and Sultan Almohammed against Dedy Imprax.
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Boxing
Moses Itauma Calls Out Next Opponent After Stunning Loss to Filip Hrgovic
Published
5 hours agoon
September 1, 2026
Moses It will hurt suffered a surprising defeat to Filip Hrgovic on Saturday, and the 21-year-old has now revealed who he wants to face upon his return.
Itauma looked to be fulfilling his destiny and dominating his Croatian opponent during the opening rounds at the O2 Arena over the weekend, but his success soon turned to desperation when Hrgovic’s chin held up and his own stamina did not.
An exhausted Itauma eventually collapsed in round nine of the contestwith Hrgovic pulling off a remarkable upset to throw the heavyweight scene a huge curveball, hand Itauma a first career loss and get his hands on the IBF heavyweight world title.
In an interview with talkSPORT Boxingpromoter Frank Warren revealed that Itauma has already asked for a rematch with ‘El Animal’.
“In that last round, he was still firing back. He has got a firing heart, he is a very brave young man, very brave. It’s now about what he does, how he prepares, he is saying to me, ‘can we get the rematch on?’, which is a natural reaction.”
Despite the 21-year-old’s desire to take on Hrgovic for a second time, it seems as though the latter will be made to face Cuba’s Frank Sanchez, who agreed to a step-aside deal to allow Itauma and Hrgovic to fight for the IBF title under the condition that he would face the winner.
Continuing, Warren seemed to confirm that a scrap between Hrgovic and Sanchez will be next, advising Itauma to take some time off before rushing into a second shot at the heavyweight throne.
“I told him, ‘you have got to just switch off from boxing, go and chill out, go and spend some time with your family and then come back, recharge your batteries and then we will get to work again,’
“The landscape is what it is, he is a a part of it, he has shown that he belongs at that level and provided that we learn and he learns some lessons from the fight, I think that he can go on and do some great things.”
In his post-fight interview, newly-crowned IBF champion Hrgovic spoke of his desire for a bout on home soil in Croatia; where he has not fought since 2019.
As a result, Warren may next target Zagreb for a clash between Hrgovic and Sanchez, which should take place within the next six months.
Boxing
Shawn Porter Expects a Dazzling Comeback from Canelo Against Explosive Prospect Mbilli
Published
5 hours agoon
September 1, 2026
Canelo Alvarez is hoping to regain one of his former super-middleweight titles at the first time of asking when he makes his comeback this October against WBC champion Christian Mbilli. Two-time welterweight ruler Shawn Porter has revealed his prediction for the fight.
Alvarez lost all four of his belts at 168lbs to Terence Crawford last September and has since been sidelined due to an elbow injuryas Crawford’s retirement saw the coronation of four new world champions.
One of those beneficiaries was Mbilli, who had been in possession of the WBC Interim crown when ‘Bud’ decided to hang up the glovesallowing him to be elevated to full champion and then lined up for a showdown with Canelo.
Canelo’s remaining quality at the age of 36 is an ongoing debate amongst fans and analysts, leading many to predict an intriguing and potentially even fight. Yet, speaking on The PorterWay Podcast‘Showtime’ said that Alvarez will look like an ‘A++ fighter’ come fight night.
“Canelo truly does have that fast twitch; he is explosive, but he is explosive with speed and quickness and that fast twitch is going to get Canelo to that mark a little bit quicker.
“Yeah, I think [he can still do it] at 36. If you think about it, even though Canelo is not that ‘A++’ fighter that he used to be, he is still a solid ‘A’ and that solid ‘A’ will beat a solid ‘B’ [in Mbilli].
“That solid ‘B’ will make a solid ‘A’ look like an ‘A++’, so I think that he is going to look ‘A++’.”
Canelo-Mbilli takes place on Saturday, October 31, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The super-middleweight duo will top a ‘Mexico vs. The World’ themed bill, which could feature a bantamweight title unification between WBA champion and pound-for-pound sensation Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and WBO titleholder Christian Medina.
Boxing
Undefeated KO Artist Moves Closer to Canelo Fight After Latest Stoppage: Its Going to Happen
Published
1 day agoon
August 31, 2026
Canelo Alvarez could be ordered to enter an immediate title defence if he emerges victorious against Christian Mbilli on October 31.
The Mexican has not fought since September 2025, when he was relieved of his undisputed super-middleweight crown after losing a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford.
On that same card, Mbilli retained his WBC ‘interim’ strap following a 10-round draw against Lester Martinezmaintaining his position as one of the top contenders at 168lbs.
The Frenchman was then upgraded to full world champion in December, with Crawford having relinquished his four major titles and announced his retirement as a three-division undisputed king.
Canelo will therefore have the opportunity to reclaim one of his old belts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Mbilli making a first defence of his WBC title.
The winner of their showdown may then be ordered to face Martinez, as the unbeaten mandatory challenger comes off two successful defences of his WBC ‘interim’ strap.
Most recently, the 30-year-old scored a 10th-round stoppage of Luka Plantic last weekend, which followed his unanimous decision victory over Immanuwel Aleem in March.
Speaking at the post-fight presser following his win against Plantic, Martinez said through a translator that he expects to eventually face both Canelo and Mbilli.
“No, look, at the end of the day, I’ve said it before: the second fight [with Mbilli] will happen, possibly next year or the year after. But either one of those fights makes sense for us.
“We know the eyes of the world are going to be on [Mbilli-Canelo]and because we’re going to be there, we’re going to take advantage of all of that. But both fights are going to happen.”
Having already created the “blueprint” to defeat Canelo, Crawford trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre said afterwards that he is supremely confident in guiding Martinez to victory against either Alvarez or Mbilli.
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