Many have tried, and all have failed against Oleksandr Usyk in the boxing ring.
Usyk, considered one of the greatest boxers to ever live, has fought professionally 24 times and has had his hand raised 24 times. Usyk cemented his place in boxing history, becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the “four-belt era” and the first in 24 years, with a 2023 win over British star Tyson Fury.
Advertisement
Now, Usyk is taking on an unusual challenge. He’s not fighting another boxing champion or contender. The Ukrainian defends his WBC heavyweight title against Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven this Saturday in front of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Although many might see the bout as a spectacle and a mismatch on paper due to Verhoeven’s limited experience in boxing, Verhoeven actually sees that as an advantage and a reason to believe he’s the one to take the undefeated Usyk.
“I’m bringing something he hasn’t seen before because he’s only faced boxers,” Verhoeven said at Thursday’s Usyak vs. Verhoeven press conference. “They’ve been boxing their whole life, and I haven’t. It’s just like a whole different approach. Like you said, it’s God’s will, so let’s see on Saturday. Let the best man win.”
Verhoeven, along with his boxing coach Peter Fury, the uncle of Tyson Fury, has enjoyed the nuances of the switch. Fury mainly focuses on training boxers, while Verhoeven has mainly worked with kickboxing coaches. The Dutch fighter has enjoyed taking on this challenge at this stage of his fighting career.
Advertisement
“I was kickboxing since I was 6 years old, and I was 36 when I started transitioning into boxing, it was at the end of last year,” Verhoeven said. “Of course, I was boxing, but I was boxing to kickbox. For Peter, it was a lot of fun because he was training me to box and kickbox, but now he’s training me to box, so he’s having a lot of fun. He’s had a lot of fun, especially for me, it was to be open-minded and to test myself. Like you said, the curiosity of, can I still do that at this age? And how can I submerge myself in the sport of boxing, and how can I transition to that? And is that even possible at this age with things that are so common to throw kicks and etcetera. I think we did quite a good job, and I’m going to showcase that to the world on Saturday.”
Verhoeven refrained from making any bold predictions or swearing to stop Usyk. His goal is to win at any means necessary, and that’s all he’s focused on.
“The first objective is to win,” Verhoeven explained. “How we’re going to win? We’ll see. If it’s a knockout, it’s a knockout. If it’s a decision, it’s a decision. If it will come to a decision and I get the win, wow. I faced the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world for years and years, and I beat him in 12 rounds. He tried everything, and he couldn’t beat me. That would be the ultimate.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Rico Verhoeven: I’m bring something Oleksandr Usyk hasn’t seen before
