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Rico Verhoeven opens his title fight with one professional fight

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Image: Usyk vs. Verhoeven on May 23: Rico Verhoeven Enters Title Fight With One Pro Bout

Verhoeven is 36 years senior, 6-foot-4, weighs approximately 269 pounds and has built a career in kickboxing. At Glory, he won 26 straight and held the heavyweight title for years. Fourteen championship titles. A long reign based on fitness, knees and combinations thrown with the shin guards in mind. None of this translates into a twelve-round championship fight scored by boxing judges who expect spotless strikes, command in the ring and effective aggression.

He has one boxing victory to his credit. One. Against Janos Finfer, who has never won a fight. This is the full biography of Oleksandr Usyk’s professional boxing behind the ring.

Peter Fury assures there will be no shame.

“People have to get behind this fight because I can tell you now: I will definitely not be on the world stage [and] I embarrass myself and my warrior.”

It has doubled.

“My fighter is a stern fighter, so it will be a great fight. Trust me. Usyk is an amazing champion. I respect him as a fighter, a boxer and I respect him as a person.”

And then the closer they get.

“And I respect Rico. So I’m going to do my job and I’m going to enjoy it, regardless of the outcome, that’s what it will be.”

It’s a balanced conversation and it has to be that way. Anyone who truly understands how elite Usyk is knows what awaits in the ring. His footwork changes the angle by an inch, his feints spark reactions before punches leave his shoulder, and his jab dictates the pace of the round. When you send a kickboxing champion to solve this problem, try to speak calmly. You can’t sell panic.

One sanctioned defense, one professional boxing victory and the WBC calls it special

The WBC approved this by resorting to the “special circumstances” clause, a useful part of the rule book that usually comes up when the usual standards seem inconvenient.

Heavyweight title fights are usually reserved for fighters who are high in the rankings and have proven themselves in the qualifying rounds. Verhoeven has none in boxing. The WBC decided that one professional fight against an undefeated opponent was enough to prepare for a championship opportunity. “Special” seems to cover a lot of ground.

Verhoeven reportedly spent some time working on his jab. Good. He’ll need it. Usyk’s entire heavyweight streak has been built on discipline, angles and a lead hand that makes opponents turn. Without a robust lead hand, you spend the night reaching for a moving target and punching the air.

Kickboxing builds endurance and timing. Boxing reveals technical flaws early. The lethargic jab is taken away. The square stance is rotated. You miss your lead hand and eat the counter.

The twelve rounds of the championship focus on craftsmanship and fitness in the ring. You have to hold position, work behind the jab and keep your feet under you while the other man sets the traps.

What happens when Usyk starts controlling the range and avoiding the lead leg? How long will it be before Verhoeven’s position begins to become clear?

Verhoeven’s size will be mentioned. Tyson Fury came in heavier and taller, and yet he was reaching for Usyk, eating left hands.

Verhoeven learns on the job.

He also handed over a contract with the UFC. This detail tells you something about the business calculation. Boxing ring under the Pyramids of Giza, pay-per-view DAZN, and the WBC belt is at stake. Payday will overshadow everything about his lone professional boxing appearance. He didn’t earn it through qualifiers or rankings. He accepted the offer when it landed on his desk. And who could blame him?

If the heavyweight champion offers you eight figures to find out if your jab can withstand the pressure of the championship, you sign the contract.

Verhoeven has never shared the ring with someone close to Oleksandr Usyk’s level.

Peter Fury can strengthen his guard. He can drill the jab. He can ask his man to work the weighty bag with straight right and left hooks thrown in succession. The only thing she can’t give him is twenty professional boxing fights full of scars and solving problems in the ring under great pressure.

If Verhoeven has any success, it will be early, when his size and strength are still fresh. Once this gets into the later rounds, it will turn into a boxing lesson and a successful evening for Usyk.

Usyk is expected to walk away with the belt. The real question is whether Verhoeven will last the distance or discover just how ruthless elite boxing can be.

Date: May 23
Start time: 7pm ET (US ET) / 12pm UK
Streaming platform: DAZN PPV
Location: Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Fight card: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven (WBC heavyweight champion)

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Boxing

Eddie Hearn questions Dana White’s boxing future

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Image: Eddie Hearn Questions Whether Dana White Can Handle Boxing

“I just don’t think they’re going to face the fire,” Hearn told iFL TV about Dana White and his company at Zuffa.

“You have years of catching, putting out fires and being bombarded with pellets and grenades to overcome this.

“I just don’t think they’ll be ready for the fire. You must be a little unwell.” [__] to do this. That’s what I do.”

Hearn also ridiculed White’s recent comments about boxing promotion and said the UFC president faces criticism now that he is in the boxing industry.

“He stank,” Hearn said.

“He’s not used to this. Don’t forget what we do, which is meeting people, giving interviews. But he had a narrative.

“He didn’t have anyone like that. That’s why he can’t do it and instead just says weird lyrics.”

Hearn later joked that White’s repeated comments about him actually helped escalate his visibility in the United States.

“I have to thank Dana White,” Hearn said.

“Every press conference he holds, he talks about me.

“I think there are people asking, ‘Who is this Eddie Hearn?’ Little Google, boss, Eddie Hearn.

Promoter Matchroom also rejected White’s recent claim that no promoter has staged more boxing events this year than Zuffa Boxing.

“The entire media audience responded, ‘Okay,’ and moved on to the next question,” Hearn said.

“Imagine if I said that. I would be fried by it in an instant.”

Hearn’s latest comments come as Zuffa Boxing continues to try to establish itself in the sport following months of public photos between White and several longtime boxing promoters.

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Boxing

Roy Jones Jr Says There’s ‘Only One Fight Ahead’ for David Benavidez: ‘You’ll Beat Everyone’

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Roy Jones Jr says there is ‘only one fight’ for David Benavidez next: “You beat everyone else”

Roy Jones Jr urged David Benavidez to follow in his footsteps rather than fight Dmitry Bivol in an undisputed lithe heavyweight clash.

The “Mexican Monster” appears the sixth round ended with a victory over Gilberto Ramirezwhom he dethroned earlier this month to become three-division world champion.

However, despite winning the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles, Benavidez expressed interest in returning to 175 pounds, where he still holds the WBC belt.

That would mean chasing unified champion Bivol, who must first defeat IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert on May 30.

The Russian hasn’t fought since he overtook Artur Beterbiev in February 2025, when he exacted revenge by majority decision and became the undisputed king.

Bivol then vacated the WBC title after deciding to undergo back surgery, which allowed Benavidez to be promoted from “interim” to full champion.

But rather than return to lithe heavyweight, Jones would prefer to see Benavidez test his skills at heavyweight, as he did against John Ruiz in 2003.

In a conversation with professional boxing fans, the pound-for-pound legend said that a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, who still holds the WBC, IBF and WBA titles, is the only fight that makes sense for him.

“This is the only fight for him right now and the only fight I want to see him in.

“You beat everyone in every other category, [so] go upstairs and fight Usyk. This is the best fight for him.”

While Benavidez has expressed a desire to challenge Usyk at heavyweight, he has said he won’t be ramping up his weight gain anytime soon and is therefore much more likely to receive his next assignment against Bivol.

It then remains to be seen whether Usyk will stay in the sport long enough to face the 29-year-old, which could end up fighting another heavyweight champion.

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Boxing

Keyshawn Davis missed weight again for the rematch

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Image: Keyshawn Davis Misses Weight Again Ahead Of Nahir Albright Rematch

The weigh-ins quickly turned tense when Albright apparently sent a message directly to Davis during their bout.

“Be a professional,” Albright said in a recording later released by DAZN Boxing.

The lack of weight immediately sparked a backlash online, as Davis has dealt with weight issues before. Last year, Davis lost his WBO lightweight title after losing more than four pounds ahead of his scheduled defense against Edwin De Los Santos.

Friday also marked the second time Davis has failed to make weight in his last three fights.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum admitted that Davis was having difficulty gaining 140 pounds and suggested that the problem may still exist.

“Well, obviously he has issues at 140,” Arum told Fighthype. “The problem is the next category is seven pounds. That’s a gigantic difference.”

Arum also compared Friday’s setback to the loss of Davis, who was previously more than four pounds compact before his canceled fight with De Los Santos last year.

“It was inexcusable because he was five pounds overweight,” Arum said.

“He is now 0.1 weight off which he will improve and get down to 140 or less.”

Keyshawn was later asked by DAZN what he told Albright during Friday’s matchup.

“I didn’t say anything,” Davis said. “That’s what I do. I knock people out.”

When asked what kind of performance he expected in the rematch, Keyshawn gave a compact answer.

“An unexpected spectacle.”

There was already bad blood in the rematch after their first fight in October 2023 was later changed to a no-contest after Keyshawn tested positive for marijuana. Their original meeting initially resulted in Keyshawn winning by a majority vote.

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