Boxing
Rico Verhoeven’s future in a substantial fight depends on Saudi Arabia’s money
“I don’t care if people didn’t know about it, but I knew we had a good chance against this guy,” Verhoeven told Ring Magazine. “I showed that I can fight and box, so I’m ready for anyone. I may not have hurt him, but I definitely surprised him with the way I approached him.”
Customary promoters would likely be interested in matching their heavyweights to Rico as he is now a recognizable name that attracts intrigue and attention. The problem is financial.
A fighter with a 1-1 boxing record who suffered a loss after a break would not typically have a huge guaranteed amount. If promoters pay Rico huge amounts of money and the event doesn’t generate enough pay-per-view purchases or ticket sales to cover both purses, they could lose heavily on the event.
Therefore, the season in Riyadh changes the equation. Saudi-backed events have shown a willingness to finance spectacle fights and absorb risks that time-honored organizers typically avoid. Rico’s value, the controversy surrounding the Usyk fight, and his kickboxing fan base still make him useful in this environment, even without an established boxing record.
Turki Alalshikh has already shown interest in a rematch between Usyk and Verhoeven after Usyk potentially faces WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel next.
If a rematch is indeed part of the plan, it is unlikely that Rico will face risky opponents in the meantime. Pairing him with heavyweights such as Moses Itauma or Frank Sanchez would create unnecessary risks before a possible second fight with Usyk.
A loss to a legitimate challenger could erase the intrigue surrounding Rico’s performance against Usyk and significantly weaken the rematch storyline.
“I only want the biggest fights.” Verhoeven said. “The kickboxing chapter has closed. This is now a fresh chapter. The boxing chapter.”
“The Greatest Fights” are for promotional purposes only brief for greatest controls. At 37 years venerable and coming off an 11th-round loss, he doesn’t have the luxury of time to build a conventional boxing career from scratch.
These “biggest fights” will likely only become realistic if Saudi money is attached to them.
Outside of His Excellency, there is no market for him at the elite level. Customary promoters are not going to shell out millions for a kickboxer who has just been stopped, no matter how competitive he looked on the scorecards before Usyk fired him.
To regular boxing networks, he’s a high-risk, low-reward opponent who brings a unique style but lacks the basic boxing pedigree to draw huge numbers of casual pay-per-view viewers on his own.
If Riyadh Season loses interest in financing this type of glasses, its options will run out immediately. He will either take a dramatic pay cut to take on mid-major fighters on standard cards, or he will realize that the boxing experiment was a short-lived and lucrative venture and end it.
Unless Turki wants to give him a bone in exchange for a rematch or a fight with someone like Agit Kabayel, where else do you think he could turn for that kind of money?
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