Oleksandr Usyk retained his world heavyweight titles after a controversial 11th-round stoppage victory against Rico Verhoeven in Egypt.
The Ukrainian champion endured one of the toughest fights of his career as Verhoeven, competing in only his second professional boxing bout, pushed Usyk throughout the contest.
Many expected the fight to expose the gap between elite boxing pedigree and crossover ambition, but Verhoeven emerged as the aggressor for long stretches and troubled the unbeaten heavyweight champion.
Usyk eventually produced a late response in the 11th round, landing a sharp left uppercut that sent the Dutch challenger to the canvas.
Verhoeven beat the count, but the referee waved off the contest following a brief follow-up attack from Usyk in the closing seconds of the round, a decision that appeared harsh on the challenger.
At the time of the stoppage, the judges’ scorecards read 95-95, 95-95 and 96-94 in favour of Verhoeven.
“This fight was hard. It was a good fight,” Usyk said.
The 39-year-old Usyk, a three-time undisputed champion across cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, extended his unbeaten professional record to 25 fights with the victory.
Verhoeven, a kickboxing legend making only his second appearance in professional boxing, questioned the referee’s decision and called for a rematch.
“I wanted the referee to let me go out on my shield or let me go in the 12th. I felt we were pretty even on the scorecards,” Verhoeven said.
Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title was on the line, while the bout also served as a defence of his WBA ‘super’ belt.
However, Verhoeven would not have been eligible to win the WBA version of the title if he had caused an upset, while the IBF permitted the contest without sanctioning its own belt.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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