Oleksandr Usyk remained undefeated but not without some controversy after a controversial stoppage from the referee cost Rico Verhoeven from possibly pulling off the biggest upset in boxing history.
Through 10 rounds, Verhoeven not only showed he belonged in the ring with Usyk but he was likely winning the fight, although scorecards in boxing are not always the most reliable. Still, Verhoeven took it to Usyk round after round and he appeared ready to shock the world as the fight moved into the final
two rounds.
But Verhoeven’s aggression cost him in the 11 th round after he rushed forward and Usyk cracked him with a nasty uppercut. That dropped Verhoeven to the canvas but he got back to his feet as the fight restarted with time ticking away in the round.
Usyk went for the kill and started unloading punches but Verhoeven was still on his feet when the referee stepped in between them to stop the fight. Verhoeven’s coaches immediately protested but the fight was already over with the official time for the TKO came at 2:59 in the 11th round.
“Rico, you’re an amazing fighter,” Usyk said after the win. “My team, I love you. You are the best. This fight was hard. It’s a good fight. I was just boxing. My right uppercut, bomb, thank you God.”
While just making it that deep in the fight might be considered a win for somebody competing in only their second professional boxing match, Verheoven was potentially one round away from becoming heavyweight champion until that referee’s stoppage. He was understandably distraught by how the fight ended, although Verhoeven could position himself for a rematch after that kind of performance.
“Yeah of course, I thought it was an early stoppage but in the end, it’s not up to me,” Verhoeven said. “But still, I thought [it was] a little bit early. I believe the referee knows we’re almost at the end of the round or let me go out on my shield or let the bell go. That’s what I thought. But like I said, it’s not up to me.
“Don’t stop it. It was so close or go out on my shield or let us go on the 12th. I was close, we were pretty equal on the scorecards. That’s at least what it felt like. But like I said, I’m very proud, very thankful. Tonight we all wrote history.”
Immediately after the fight, Turki Alalshikh called for a rematch with hopes of promoting the fight in Verhoeven’s home country of Holland. Obviously, Verhoeven is down for that idea but he also knows he doesn’t make that final call.
“It’s not up to me [about a rematch],” Verhoeven said. “I was already super thankful for the opportunity as well that Usyk took this fight. It’s not up to me, it’s up to the organization so let’s see what happens.”
A lot of early movement from Verhoeven and he connected with a straight right hand to open the fight while Usyk was pawing at him with his lead jab. Verhoeven landed another stiff right to the body as he remained very active on his feet.
Usyk got busier in the second round but Verhoeven was still pressing forward and trying to use his size advantage over the heavyweight champion. The aggression cost Verhoeven with Usyk cracking him with a pair of stiff uppercuts but he wasn’t afraid to keep coming as he tried to lean on the Russian, perhaps an attempt to tire him out.
Verhoeven was repeatedly unleashing multi-punch combinations but Usyk was finally starting to find his range, although he was typically just landing one shot at a time.
By the time the fight moved into the fourth round, Usyk really started to unleash some vicious punches and he was coming after Verhoeven. Usyk was aiming for the knockout as he was head hunting but just when it looked like he was taking over, Verhoeven popped him with a nasty right hand of his own.
Verhoeven was still attacking, throwing punches to the body and head and forcing Usyk to stay on his back foot. Usyk fired back with his lead jab and trying to find a home for his powerful left hand.
The fact that Verhoeven was not only surviving but actually winning several rounds over Usyk was a surprise to just about everybody. But Verhoeven was showing supreme confidence as he continued engaging with Usyk, who was trying to find an opening to really hurt the former GLORY kickboxing champion.
At one point, Usyk acutally switched his stance and he immediately ate a hard right hand from Verhoeven that caught him clean on the chin. Verhoeven continued chipping away just before blasting Usyk with a right to the body and then a nasty right to the head that snapped the head back.
In the ninth round, Verhoeven was connecting with some punishing shots to the body as he kept backing Usyk up and then unloading his punches. Verhoeven was stepping into his combinations, throwing multiple punches and then clinching to lean on Usyk with his considerable size advantage.
Verhoeven showed no fear in the exchanges and he was routinely throwing more punches as he peppered away at Usyk with good power and technique. Usyk came alive as time ticked away in the 10th round and he really went after Verhoeven but he also got caught by another hard right hand just before the bell sounded.
When he got more active, Usyk was finding a home for his punches but Verhoeven kept coming right back at him and his best punches were still connecting on target.
An exchange against the ropes saw Usyk land his best punch in the fight as he blasted Verhoeven with a uppercut that sent him crashing to the canvas. Verhoeven got up and Usyk attacked again with a barrage of shots, although many were blocked.
Still that was enough for the referee to stop the fight and hand Usyk the 11th round finish via TKO.
The controversial ending is going to haunt this result but it may lead to a rematch with Usyk inviting Verhoeven to run it back again in the future. Considering how close Verhoeven came to pulling off the jaw-dropping upset, anything seems possible.
