Oleksandr Usyk avoids massive upset with controversial TKO win

As many expected, Oleksandr Usyk left the Pyramids of Giza with another title defense. But what perhaps people didn’t see coming, is that Usyk got it done with plenty of controversy.

Usyk defended his WBC heavyweight title in a crossover fight against Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven this Saturday in front of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The championship fight streamed on pay-per-view on DAZN. Usyk defeated Verhoeven by TKO at the 2:59 mark of Round 11.

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This was one of the easier matchups on paper for Usyk, given he entered around a -2000 betting favorite on the sportsbooks. Verhoeven, although a very decorated kickboxer, had only one professional boxing match heading into the bout with Usyk.

Yet, despite the perceived mismatch. Verhoeven put on a great performance and was competitive all throughout the fight. He connected many clean shots on Usyk and pushed the pace for the majority of the fight. The commentators, the broadcast’s unofficial judge, and many online had Verhoeven up on the scorecards. Verhoeven’s gutsy performance was panning out to potentially be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

The controversy came in Round 11. Usyk rocked and dropped Verhoeven with about 20 seconds remaining in the round. Although hurt, Verhoeven stood up and didn’t sweat the 10 count. The fight resumed, and Usyk unloaded a 10-punch combination on the Dutch fighter. Some of Usyk’s shots were filtering through Verhoeven’s guard, but he was still swinging back and had his hands up. It was then that the referee stepped in and waved off the fight with one second left in the round. Verhoeven immediately protested the stoppage and seemed very upset with the referee. Many online thought Verhoeven wasn’t given a fair shot. Had he been given one more second, Verhoeven would’ve had the 60-second rest in between rounds to recover for the final championship round.