Rico Verhoeven was all class, however clearly disenchanted after his current loss.
Final evening, Verhoeven challenged Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title in Egypt, headlining a singular occasion staged close to the Pyramids of Giza. Collaborating in solely his second skilled boxing bout, the Dutch star entered as a large underdog towards the undefeated champion.
From the opening rounds, “King of Kickboxing” exceeded expectations, utilizing his dimension, strain, and physique work to disrupt Usyk’s rhythm. He held his personal towards the Ukrainian, discovering success in shut exchanges and sustaining a gradual tempo. By the eighth spherical, open scoring had the battle stage at 76-76 throughout all three judges.
The battle’s defining second got here late in Spherical 11, when “The Cat” dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut. He beat the rely and regained his footing, nonetheless trying to defend because the motion resumed. Nevertheless, with only one second left earlier than the bell, referee Mark Lyson stopped the competition at 2:59 of the spherical, awarding Usyk a TKO victory.
The abrupt name sparked controversy, as Rico Verhoeven, his staff, and plenty of fight sports activities fanatics believed he was denied a good likelihood to outlive the spherical and proceed.
Rico Verhoeven Reacts To Controversial Stoppage Loss In opposition to Oleksandr Usyk
Following the controversial defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, Rico Verhoeven addressed the consequence throughout his in-ring interview. Clearly disenchanted but composed, the “King of Kickboxing” maintained that the stoppage got here too quickly, including that he would have welcomed the possibility to see out the battle or exit swinging.
“Yeah, after all I assumed it was an early stoppage, however in the long run, it’s lower than me,” Rico Verhoeven mentioned. “Nonetheless, I discovered it somewhat bit early. I consider that the referee is aware of that we’re virtually on the finish of the spherical. Let me exit on my defend or let the bell go. That’s what I assumed, however like I mentioned, it’s lower than me.”
The GLORY Kickboxing legend added that he took pleasure in his efficiency and felt it could flip heads throughout the boxing world.
“It was so shut. Let me exit on my defend or go into the twelfth. I used to be shut. We have been fairly equal on the rating playing cards, or at the very least that’s what I felt like. However I’m very proud, very grateful. … I’m tremendous proud with my efficiency. The boxing world will hopefully now embrace me as a boxer, as effectively.”
