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Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven confirmed for the WBC title fight

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Image: WBC Sanctions Usyk Title Defense Against Verhoeven

Nevertheless, the sanctioning authority approved him as a challenger.

This is not an argument against Verhoeven’s athletic past. His achievements in kickboxing are extensive. For more than a decade, he held some version of the heavyweight championship and defended it against elite opponents, building a long reign in another combat sport. He understands the pressure of a championship and has performed at the highest level available to him over the years.

The question is whether this story translates directly into qualifying for the world heavyweight boxing champion title.

Usyk, now 39, has achieved his position through specific steps in the sport. After moving up from cruiserweight, he defeated established challengers and unified the titles in high-level fights. His most recent winning streak included two wins over Tyson Fury in Riyad, before he stopped Daniel Dubois within five rounds to retain his champion status. Each of these fights was against ranked heavyweights operating within boxing’s competitive order.

Verhoeven steps in without this path. He was absent from professional boxing for over a decade and did not build final rounds against newfangled heavyweights, did not advance through eliminators or move up the ranking ladder in a newfangled championship setting. Despite this, the WBC deemed him suitable to fight for the belt.

The event itself explains part of the calculation. The fight, tagged “Glory in Giza”, will take place in Egypt and will be broadcast worldwide on DAZN under the leadership of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. The scale of staging, historical setting and financial support position it as a destination event built with international reach in mind, rather than a routine defense from a line of challengers.

The heavyweight championship has traditionally been run with ranked challengers, eliminators, and a structured mandatory defense. This system was never inflexible, but existed as a apparent framework. Approving a crossover fighter with a single fight in professional boxing goes beyond this framework and adapts the standard used.

Supporters of the decision will cite Verhoeven’s credentials. He has no shortage of experience in combat sports and is no stranger to performing under the pressure of championships. Physically he fits the division and commercially he attracts a different segment of the audience to the event. From a promotional point of view, the appeal is obvious.

However, sanctions are intended to reflect the competitive position within the sport itself.

Usyk’s position complicates the picture. Having united and defended against established names, he operates with the freedom that often accompanies long-reigning champions. Heavyweight title holders historically select opponents based on the prize and the time they have cleared their main field. An opponent with narrow boxing experience has a different risk profile than a ranked fighter with dozens of professional fights under his belt.

This adjustment does not erase the legality of the belt, but it does indicate how malleable the approval process can become when the scale of events and global reach are at stake.

The heavyweight championship has long functioned as the symbolic center of boxing. Decisions about who competes for it reflect how the sport weighs competitive order against commercial ambitions. In this case, the emphasis clearly favors the scope and spectacular nature of the event.

Verhoeven made his mark in kickboxing. Usyk has earned his place in boxing. On May 23, these careers will converge under the rules of the heavyweight championship, and the event can succeed on its own terms.

Despite this, a fighter who had been absent from professional boxing for twelve years was allowed to fight for the most apparent prize in the sport. This fact alone tells you where the heavyweight title permits are currently at.

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World champion will be stripped of his title if he refuses to fight David Benavidez next: ‘That’s it’

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World champion to be stripped of title if he refuses to face David Benavidez next: “That’s it”

David Benavidez won the WBA and WBO cruiserweight world titles with his last fight, and the “Mexican Monster” may add to his collection in the future after one of the world champions was ordered to fight him under the threat of being stripped of his belt.

Last month I moved up from light heavyweight and dethroned Gilberto Ramirez in sensational styleBenavidez now holds the WBA (regular) and WBC featherlight heavyweight world titles, as well as his recently won unified cruiserweight crown.

As a result, the 29-year-old must decide whether he should return to the featherlight heavyweight scene or stay in the cruiserweight division, where he put in arguably the best performance of his career last time out after tuning out his fight with Jai Opetaia.

However, Benavidez was also named the WBC cruiserweight mandatory challenger and was ordered to fight WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian, another who has been linked to a fight with Opetaia.

If Mikaelian refuses to defend the title against Benavidez, the WBC president announced in an interview for the WBC magazine that he would strip the Armenian of the belt. Boxing Scene.

“The WBC order is Mikaelian against Benavidez. That’s all. If he fights again, he will waive his obligations to the WBC.”

“[There is no deadline] at this time. I will be talking to different managers. This is the highest priority. I look forward to making sure that happens.”

If Mikaeilian decides to continue the fight with Opetaia and thus lose the world title, it can be expected that Polish-born interim champion Michał Cieślak will benefit. Either he will be elevated to full world champion and ordered to make his first defense against Benavidez, or he will be included in a vacant belt fight against the three-division world champion.

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Peter Fury claims Tyson used the wrong tactics against Usyk

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Image: Tyson Fury's Social Media Post Keeps the Joshua Fight Fantasy Alive in the UK

“Well, he has his team there and I’m not criticizing anyone, but in both fights his tactics weren’t good,” Peter said in an interview with Sport Boxing.

“It worked out badly because look, if we have a little guy here who can throw, let’s say, a welterweight who can throw a thousand punches, and we have a heavyweight, will a heavyweight fighter throw a thousand punches with him? No.”

“Or maybe he’ll step in and take one good shot? Absolutely.”

“So basically yes, the strategy was just wrong. It doesn’t mean Usyk was better than him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t say anything. You misunderstand the tactics and they are wrong.

“And you know, when you look at Usyk’s structure and what he does, when he distances himself and tries to box an elite boxer who is lighter than you and who is giving away pounds, he will ping you all over the shop. That should be noticed,” Peter Fury said.

Tyson Fury announced his return earlier this year and is expected to have a preparatory fight before the start of his scheduled series with Anthony Joshua. Queensbury promoter Frank Warren recently confirmed that Fury’s next opponent could be announced in the coming days, with the long-awaited fight against Joshua expected to take place later this year.

Usyk remains at the top of the heavyweight division and has been ordered to fight WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel. Warren also confirmed that negotiations for the fight are ongoing.

Fury’s third meeting with Usyk has not been announced. Peter Fury, however, remains convinced that the strategy used in the first two fights determined the result.

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The politician’s perfect 12-0 KO record remains the strangest in boxing

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Jorge Kahwagi poses at a WBC weigh-in during his controversial 12-0 professional boxing career

Jorge Kahwagi achieved something almost impossible in professional boxing. The Mexican politician retired with a perfect record of 12-0, knocked out every opponent he faced, and finished his entire career in just 15 rounds.

On paper, this looks like one of the most devastating runs the sport has ever seen. In fact, many boxing fans wondered if they even believed it.

Perfect record

Kahwagi turned professional in 2001, despite having no boxing experience. Over the next fourteen years, he set an undefeated record, won regional titles, and never once heard the final bell.

Twelve fights brought twelve victories. All twelve victories were by knockout in just fifteen rounds.

The numbers are tough to understand even now.

Several of Kahwagi’s opponents entered the ring in defeat. Others seemed hopelessly outmatched.

But the record continued to grow as the politician and businessman rose through the cruiserweight ranks without ever being seriously tested.

By the time he retired in 2015 after returning from a ten-year hiatus for one final fight, Kahwagi owned one of boxing’s most remarkable undefeated records.

Why fans never bought it

The controversy surrounding Kahwaga was not in itself. This is how some of these victories turned out.

His last fight against Ramon Olivas remains the fight most frequently mentioned in discussions about Kahwagi’s career. The break came after seemingly minimal contact, prompting criticism from fans and observers.

Doubts have already surrounded previous victories, including the victory over veteran Roberto Coelho.

Whether these doubts were justified or not, the damage was done and many fans never accepted Kahwagi’s record at face value.

WBC

Boxing has seen this before

Kahwagi’s record may be extraordinary, but in boxing there is always controversy when it comes to results.

As WBN reports, while John Riel Casimero faces a fight-fixing investigation in 2025, debates continue to arise in the contemporary era about what happens inside the ropes.

Long before that, Roy Jones Jr. denied winning Olympic gold in Seoul despite dominating Park Si-hun in what many still consider the greatest heist in boxing history.

More than thirty years later, Park returned the medal to Jones.

The Kahwagi case falls into a different category, but the result is often the same. Once fans stop believing what they’re watching, the debate never really stops.

Still one of the strangest

Few fighters retire with a perfect record, and even fewer retire after every knockout victory.

Kahwagi handled both, finishing his entire professional career in just 15 innings, and those numbers remain remarkable.

More than a decade after his retirement, the debate surrounding his record has never really died down.

That’s why Jorge Kahwagi’s perfect 12-0 record remains one of the strangest in boxing history.


About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

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