What’s happening? Oleksandr Usyk, the unbeaten unified heavyweight champion and a three-time undisputed champion across two weight divisions, meets Dutch kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in Giza, Egypt on Saturday, May 23. The bout is being promoted as a high-profile crossover contest pitting elite boxing against elite kickboxing.
Who is Rico Verhoeven? Verhoeven is a dominant figure in kickboxing: a long-reigning Glory heavyweight champion until he vacated that belt last year after a run that began in 2013. His professional boxing experience is extremely limited — he has just one pro boxing contest — so he is not a seasoned boxer by traditional standards. Still, he has long trained with boxing figures and has sparred top-level boxers, including sessions with Tyson Fury, and has worked with coach Peter Fury at times.
Is this a world-title fight? Yes. The WBC has sanctioned the match, so Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title will be on the line. Usyk also holds the IBF and WBA heavyweight crowns; those organisations have allowed him to take this fight without immediately stripping him of their belts, so only the WBC belt is directly contested.
Could Verhoeven win? It would be a major upset. Usyk is widely regarded as the best heavyweight boxer in the world and enters the fight as a heavy favourite. While Verhoeven has elite striking experience and has trained with top boxers, converting kickboxing success and limited boxing rounds into beating a top professional boxer of Usyk’s calibre is a tall order.
What happens if Usyk loses? If Usyk is beaten, Rico Verhoeven would become the WBC heavyweight champion — an unexpected titleholder from a kickboxing background. Because the IBF and WBA titles were not on the line, Verhoeven cannot pick those belts up in this fight. The IBF would strip Usyk of their championship if he lost here. The WBA has said it will review Usyk’s status rather than automatically strip him; the WBA Championship Committee would consider next steps if Usyk is defeated.
Who would Usyk fight next (or who would the sanctioning bodies mandate)? If Usyk retains, he would be due to make a WBC mandatory defence next against Agit Kabayel, the interim WBC titlist and mandatory challenger — unless he chose to vacate the WBC crown. After fulfilling the WBC obligations, a WBA mandatory defence would follow, and then Usyk would have 180 days from that WBA mandatory defence to meet the IBF mandatory challenger. The IBF mandatory in line would be the winner of the Richard Torrez vs Frank Sanchez undercard bout on the same show. That said, Usyk is at a stage of his career where he has considerable leverage and can influence which fights he takes rather than being strictly dictated by every sanctioning body’s rotation.
What does Usyk say? Usyk has downplayed the clash as entertainment for fans while reiterating his primary identity as a boxer: “Rico is the absolute world champion in kickboxing and I am in boxing. For the fans, that’s not bad,” he told the Associated Press. He added that sport fans often want spectacle, and that after this bout he intends to return to boxing-specific opponents as part of the plan he and his team are building.
Additional note: The show around this period includes other heavyweight and undercard interest; for example, Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki will be televised live on Sky Sports on June 6.