“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?

As the boxing world continues to debate the controversial stoppage between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven, Eddie Hearn has revealed how Anthony Joshua scored the fight up to this point.

On Saturday, Usyk and Verhoeven went head-to-head at the Giza Pyramids in Egyptand it almost led to perhaps the greatest upset in boxing history.

Verhoeven performed much better than almost everyone expected, and the Dutch kickboxing legend won multiple rounds against Usyk, and as the fight entered its final stages, there was a real chance he could come out on top.

These hopes were dashed in the 11th round when Usyk finally fired a mighty shot that knocked down his opponent. Verhoeven managed to get back on his feet, but the Ukrainian responded with a series of punches, which caused referee Mark Lyson to step in and stop the fight.

It was this break that caused much controversy as many people believed it came prematurely, especially since many viewers felt that Verhoeven should have been ahead on the scorecards with one round remaining.

Former unified world heavyweight champion Joshua wasn’t one of them though, because promoter Hearn told IFL TV that although “AJ” was surprised by what he saw, Usyk had the lead on his card.

“He was shocked. He actually just picked Usyk up for the fight.”

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Joshua supported the Ukrainian, as although the two have fought twice together, they have since become gym mates, with Usyk stating that he will assist ‘AJ’ become a world champion again in the future.

On Tuesday, Claressa Shields publicly responded to the ban from Most Valuable Promotions events, dismissing the sanction, stating that she had previously refused to sign the promotion agreement and indicating that her legal team would address what she described as false statements and defamation. The X posts follow Monday’s announcement by MVP that the undisputed heavyweight champion has been banned from events until further notice following a physical altercation with Alycia Baumgardner at MVP MMA 1 at the Intuit Dome on Saturday, May 16.

Baumgardner, who is signed to MVP and holds the unified 130-pound championship, said Monday that she experienced a “physical attack without provocation” and that the case would be handled legally. BoxingInsider previously reported on the ban and Baumgardner’s response.

Shields’ answer to MVP

Shields addressed the promotion directly in the X post.

“Now to MVP, you all tried to sign me, I refused!” Shields wrote. “You can’t kick me out of a place I don’t want to be! Tomorrow I can fight anywhere in the world! So anyone who thinks this feeble ban matters, doesn’t matter. These false statements will be dealt with as well. All of you threatening me and then playing the victim is madness. MVP, all of you lying all over me, that’s NOTHING NEW! Since you came out of the gate, all that remains is disrespect! Calling all of you fighters a ‘Real GWOAT’ while looking at my achievements, trying to erase my demanding work in women’s boxing and constantly trying to kill my character with LIES!”

MVP, co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, has signed numerous female players in recent years, including Baumgardner and Amanda Serrano. Shields had not previously publicly confirmed that the promotion had offered her a contract.

Shields’ broader statement

Earlier Tuesday, Shields released a longer statement about X in which she characterized the encounter as the result of an extended pattern of hostility directed at her and said the circulating video did not capture the full sequence of events.

“I have dedicated my life to the sport of boxing. By the grace of God, I have been blessed. My talent has undeniably allowed me to take women’s boxing to a recent level,” Shields wrote. “It doesn’t end in the ring. What’s circulating on the Internet doesn’t tell the full story. Until now. I don’t condone violence. I’ve never done it. But I’m also not one to stand silently while I’m constantly verbally attacked, threatened, discriminated against, or have my character killed. I also won’t allow the reality of disrespect to turn into a narrative or discussion about colorism or jealousy.”

Shields continued: “There is a documented history of attacks and threats from this individual leading up to this point, and that history will speak for itself. There is a difference between aggression and protection. I stand for integrity. I stand on what I have built. I am a champion. Any further false allegations or defamation of character will be dealt with appropriately by my legal team.”

Shields did not detail the documented history she was referencing or specify what specific statements by MVP or Baumgardner she considered defamatory.

Where things stand

According to ESPNThe MVP ban applies to all future events and remains in effect until further notice, with no disclosure of the terms of its potential revocation. Neither side has filed any civil claims. Both camps said legal teams were involved.

Shields is the undisputed heavyweight champion and has fought between 154 and 175 pounds. Baumgardner holds the unified 130-pound titles. A sanctioned fight between the two teams has long been considered impractical due to the weight difference, which has been a recurring feature of their public exchanges since 2022.

Saturday’s MVP event in Inglewood was his first MMA promotion and his first event with Netflix. Ronda Rousey stopped Gina Carano 17 seconds into the main event.