Oleksandr Usyk narrowly retained his heavyweight world title in a contentious late stoppage victory over Rico Verhoeven. The fight, held at the pyramids, was an intriguing battle between boxing champion Usyk and kickboxing legend Verhoeven, who was in just his second professional boxing match. Despite Verhoeven’s strong performance, Usyk managed to drop him with an uppercut in the penultimate round, leading to a controversial stoppage by the referee, Mark Lyson, just as the bell sounded.
Both fighters showed respect after the match, with Usyk acknowledging Verhoeven’s skills and Verhoeven expressing disappointment over the stoppage timing. Verhoeven impressed early on by landing the first significant shot, but Usyk gradually found his rhythm, particularly with his uppercuts.
As the fight progressed, Verhoeven showcased his resilience and power, while Usyk displayed his tactical prowess and ability to land impactful combinations. Ultimately, Usyk’s late surge proved decisive as he put Verhoeven down before the final round.
In other matches on the card, Hamzah Sheeraz claimed the WBO super-middleweight world title with a dominant second-round victory over Alem Begic, while Jack Catterall secured a WBA welterweight world title portion with a convincing win over Shakhram Giyasov. Additionally, rising American heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr suffered a knockout loss to Frank Sanchez, who earned a shot at a world title with an impressive second-round stoppage.
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