The former kickboxing champion pushed Usyk into difficult rounds before the heavyweight title fight ended in the eleventh round in Egypt
Rico Verhoeven says he proved he belongs in professional boxing despite suffering an eleventh-round stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Egypt. Verhoeven pushed the unbeaten heavyweight champion through competitive rounds and was level on two scorecards before the late stoppage.
The former kickboxing champion pushed Usyk far harder than many expected before the referee stepped in late in the fight. At the time of the stoppage, two judges had the fight even at 95-95, while a third had Verhoeven ahead 96-94.
“Yeah, it sucks. I felt I was so close to shocking the world,” said Rico Verhoeven to DAZN Boxing after the fight.
“I’m here to stay. I think I showed the world that I can definitely box. Even as a kickboxer, they told me, ‘Who is this guy? He can’t do anything. It’ll be four or five rounds,’ but I think after four or five rounds, we were pretty equal on the scorecards.
“So, I think that was a crazy, crazy performance. I felt like I was so close to winning, but it is what it is.”
Verhoeven came into the fight as a major underdog against the unbeaten unified heavyweight champion, but his physical pressure, size, and willingness to trade gave Usyk problems during several of the early and middle rounds.
The performance immediately changed the conversation around Verhoeven’s future in boxing.
Rather than treating the fight as a one-off crossover appearance, the Dutch heavyweight made it clear afterward that he plans to continue boxing despite the defeat. His comments also reflected how competitive the fight remained before Usyk finally took control in the championship rounds and forced the stoppage.
For much of the fight, Verhoeven looked far more comfortable than many expected against one of boxing’s most accomplished champions.
