He didn’t know it at the time, but a chance meeting with Jason Statham a few years ago in London led one day to Rico Verhoeven fighting Oleksandr Usyk for the world heavyweight title.
Verhoeven, a kickboxing champion who held the GLORY heavyweight title for over a decade and is undefeated since 2015, will face Usyk on May 23 in Egypt, in front of the Pyramids of Giza.
“Glory of Giza: Undefeated Icons,” promoted by Ring Magazine, is the latest mega crossover fight the boxing world is becoming accustomed to.
The exhibit itself will be impressive enough, but the fact that it has the lend a hand of an A-list star adds a little more magic to the event. According to Verhoeven, it was Statham, a Hollywood superstar known to be a combat sports fan, who contacted him and asked him to stop by while they were both in London.
Verhoeven, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound beast who has dominated his sport for years, has also dabbled in the film business, appearing in several action films and most recently working on
Mutual friends contacted them and Verhoeven drove over an hour to catch up with Statham.
“It was so cold that we just said yes,” Verhoeven tells ESPN. “You know, sometimes you just have a certain energy that just fits with people, and that’s what we had. We just kept in touch from then on.”
Their paths crossed again in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, when Usyk fought Tyson Fury.
“He was like bro; you have to be here! This has to happen,” the Dutchman continues. “He started talking to His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority] about me, he just planted the seed.”
Rapid forward to last September in Las Vegas, and Statham, who has been a regular in the ring alongside Alalshikh during the biggest fights of the last two years, was on hand for Canelo Alvarez’s fight against Terence Crawford. According to Verhoeven, he again gave Alalshikh the idea of having the kickboxing great take part in his own mega fight.
“Sunday morning Amsterdam time, I’m running on the treadmill, Jason calls,” Verhoeven explains. “I said, ‘Bro, I’m on the track, I’ll call you [back]. He said, “Listen, snail-paced down.” I talked [Alalshikh] is at the bottom; he loves it. He’s watched all your fights and he wants to do something. I’ve given him your contact details and his team will be in touch.
“So yes, he is [Statham] there was glue.”
Preparations are underway for the Anthony Joshua fight, almost confirmed and scheduled for March, and Verhoeven’s name came up at the post-fight press conference following Joshua’s victory over Jake Paul in November.
However, Joshua’s involvement in a December 31 car crash that killed two of his friends left Verhoeven and the British heavyweight’s career in limbo. It was back to the drawing board for Verhoeven, who was still desperate for a substantial fight.
He had offers from the UFC, but his goal was boxing, which was more suited to his skills. His team decided to present the idea of fighting Usyk to Alalshikh.
Why not?
“He is a champion, I am a champion in my discipline, let’s talk about it,” says Verhoeven. “I called them and said, ‘I have an idea, I just want to pitch it… Just let me know what you think.
“I hear, ‘I love it.’
“The rest is history. They talked about it [Usyk]he was excited about it and said, “I love it too, let’s do it.”
Verhoeven, a kickboxing icon who will go down in history as one of the best in the history of the sport, will fight the elite heavyweight boxer in the world, but it will be a fight for the real title, and the WBC will confirm that their belt will be on the line.
The fight divided the boxing world, but it is another showcase that will draw attention to the sport.
And against the background of historic pyramids, it will certainly look like from a movie.
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