Eddie Hearn has revealed his assessment of the rounds that preceded Oleksandr Usyk’s controversial stoppage of Rico Verhoeven last Saturday.

The two heavyweights squared off for Usyk’s WBC world title, with many expecting the defending champion to march through his crossover assignment with relative ease.

Given the Ukrainian’s status as a three-time, two-division undisputed king, it is hardly surprising that his opponent was written off to such a great extent.

When considering, too, that this was Verhoeven’s second-ever professional boxing match, many felt that he would swiftly crumble under the suffocating pressure of Usyk.

As it happened, though, the Dutch kickboxer managed to find considerable success in the early rounds, making his opponent seem more beatable than ever before.

Then, by round 11, Verhoeven was boasting a 96-94 lead on one of the judges’ cards, while the other two scoring officials had reached a 95-95 verdict.

At this point, Usyk perhaps sensed that he needed a moment of magic, and so the 39-year-old dramatically floored his man with an expertly-timed uppercut.

Despite Verhoeven regaining his footing, referee Mark Lyson had committed to waving him off at the sound of the bell, with many suggesting that the 11th-round finish came too early.

Subscribing to this view, Matchroom promoter Hearn told IFL TV that he, like judge Pasquale Procopio, had Verhoeven ahead at the time of the stoppage.

“I had Rico up in the fight, going into that 11th round. I thought it was a poor stoppage.

“I know you can never think about how long [is] left in the round but, what was there, a couple seconds left in the round?

“I think when you’re up in the fight, or you’re that competitive, [the referee] can’t stop a fight when he’s not taking any serious punishment, even though the knockdown was heavy.”

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Regardless of whether the stoppage was premature, Usyk’s performance has led many to suspect that Father Time may finally have caught up with him.

Former captain Gary Mabbutt hopes Ben Davies will have a future at Tottenham Hotspur after the club avoided relegation to the Championship.

Wales skipper Davies, who turned 33 last month, sees his Tottenham contract expire next month.

The defender has not played since suffering a serious ankle injury in January, but Mabbutt believes he should be offered the chance to stay at a club he has represented for 12 years.

“Ben’s a great lad,” said Spurs great Mabbutt.

“What he has given to the club so far… it was just so unfortunate the injury he received. It was devastating for him and or us because Ben’s a player you can always rely on.

“Certainly I hope something will be done with his contract, whether it be still on the playing side or maybe looking a bit more to the future, but hopefully still with Tottenham Hotspur.”

At the end of a long night there was relief for Oleksandr Usyk in the shadow of the Pyramids in the great Giza Plateau.

It finished with Rico Verhoeven in the arms of referee, Mark Lyson, with just one second left on the clock in round eleven; there should be no debate about Lyson’s stoppage. A fight is finished by the referee with no consideration for the clock, just a desire to make sure that a boxer is healthy.

There is talk of an official appeal, talk that the bell to end the round sounded before Lyson had stopped the fight, but there is no technology that can register the exact end, no clock that stops, just a man jumping between two battered and bruised boxers. It is an inexact science, but it works.

The controversy surrounding the ending has helped shield Usyk from examination; the world heavyweight champion, unbeaten, untouchable in so many fights, and regal on both sides of the ropes looked troubled throughout the fight. One judge correctly had Verhoeven in front going into the round 11; two had it a kind draw. Usyk was close to defeat, closer than he had been for a very long time.

It is too easy to just say that Verhoeven offered a style that Usyk could not solve, too simple to insist that Verhoeven’s size was the factor. The truth is that Usyk, who looked fleshy and heavy and lacked a sharp edge from the opener, was just off all night. Verhoeven was expected to start fast, fade and get stopped on his feet in about six or so rounds – perhaps Usyk believed the hype. It is more likely that he simply took his eyes off the prize and that can happen. He is just human and at 39, after nearly thirty years in the boxing trade, he can be excused for having a night off.

It is, perhaps, revealing that the first thing Usyk said when he was interviewed in the ring was not about the fight, but about a conversation he had with his daughter that very day. “She is in a bomb shelter,” he said. Have we become so immune to human disaster that we hear that and still question why a man did not look and fight like he normally does? The line was lost in all the screaming and shouting in the ring at the end.

Usyk has now won 14 world title fights across two weights in seven countries, he is a national idol in Ukraine, and he has beaten in style bigger and more dangerous men than Verhoeven. However, it looked like it was far more than just a bad night, a night when he had other things on his mind. It looked like the start of the end and that can often be revealed in far more than just a decline in speed or reactions; Usyk looked like he was not enjoying the fight, and Verhoeven was heroic on the night. Usyk looked uncomfortable and that is a problem going forward. A sharper, younger and lighter Usyk would have solved Verhoeven and won in style.

Verhoeven will be an even bigger threat in the rematch, but Usyk walking away must surely be one of the options going forward. Usyk is smart enough and rich enough to not become a victim of pride and hubris in a business he dominated for so long.

Best hitter matchups for this week include the Cubs, Brewers and Rangers

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May 24, 2026

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11:33 pm ET

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1 min read

ARC Raiders Season 4 Week 5 Trials just went live on May 25, 2026, and will remain active until May 31, 2026. During the fifth week of Season 4 Trials, Raiders must fight a few specific types of ARCs, especially on select Points of Interest. Thowables are part of this week’s challenge list, and as such, crafting a decent amount of these gadgets may be necessary to acquire all rewards for the challenge.

This article sheds light on the best ways to obtain three stars in ARC Raiders Season 4 Week 5 Trials.

ARC Raiders Season 4 Week 5 Trials (May 25 to 31, 2026): How to get 3 stars in every challenge

This week, the ARC Trials challenge list requires players to head topside and fight Bombardiers and Shredders. Additionally, the Red Lakes is a POI where you must be physically present when fighting robots to gain an additional Trials score. Lastly, players need to loot or interact with weapon crates to gain score and climb the Trials leaderboard.

Here are all the Trials challenges for Season 4 Week 5 Trials:

• Damage Shredders
• Damage Bombardiers
• Deal damage with Blaze Grenades
• Loot weapon crates
• Damage ARC in the Red Lakes

1) Best ways to deal damage to Shredders during Season 4 Week 5 Trials

Targeting Shredders is our first challenge during this week’s Trials. To do so, one must bring a loadout capable of dealing with them quickly, as wasting too much time on a single Shredder can decrease our potential score.

Recommended loadout:

• Bettina / Hullcracker (III or IV preferred)
• Light / Medium Shield
• Shield Rechargers
• Herbal Bandages
• 10x Adrenaline Shots

Recommended strat

• Deploy on Stella Montis during any map condition.
• Your primary objective is to continuously run through specific Points of Interest as shown in the image above and destroy every Shredder you cross paths with.
• Here’s your route: Medical Research > Atrium > Cultural Archives > Lobby > Assembly.
• Follow the route and target the Shredder’s thrusters to eliminate them quickly. This can be done with two/three shots of a Hullcracker and one magazine of a Bettina.
• You can keep running the route even after hitting 4000 Points if you intend to set a new personal high score.

2) Best ways to damage Bombardiers during Season 4 Week 5 Trials

For this challenge, head to the Hidden Bunker event to find multiple ground-based ARCs, especially Bombardiers. The Hidden Bunker’s locked entrance is always guarded by Bastions and Bombardiers. This gives us a reliable spawn for this ARC miniboss.

Recommended loadout:

• Bettina / Hullcracker (IV preferred)
• Wolfpacks / Trailblazers / Deadlines (optional)
• Barricades (optional)
• Ziplines (optional)
• Medium Shield
• Shield Rechargers / Surge Shield Rechargers
• Herbal Bandages

Recommended strat:

• Head to the entrance of the Hidden Bunker near Fuel Lines and Departure Building.
• Reach the roof of the Fuel Processing building and set up barricades to shoot the Bombardier ARCs while taking cover, as marked with the green arrow on the map above.
• If you bought Wolfpacks or Trailblazers, you can get to the lower ground and throw them when the ARC is in proximity.
• Additionally, you can shoot a single leg and destroy the yellow joint to paralyze the ARC momentarily. In this short span of time, get up close to the ARC and attach a deadline. One or two should be enough to finish off this ARC miniboss.
• Loot all components from the Bombardier shell to allow it to respawn in a short while and repeat the process to get another kill under your belt.

It is recommended that you enter a fresh lobby with nearly 40 minutes remaining for the best chances of achieving a high score.

3) Best ways to search weapon crates for Season 4 Week 5 Trials

Weapon crates are small, rectangular, green cases that contain weapons and ammo. These weapon crates are found across all six maps in ARC Raiders. For this challenge, we must interact with as many crates as possible to acquire a 4000 Trials score.

Recommended loadout

• Anvil / Bettina
• Four stacks of ammo
• Light Shield
• Shield Rechargers
• Herbal Bandages
• 3x Ziplines (optional)
• 30x Adrenaline Shots (optional)

Recommended strat:

• After spawning on the Buried City map, head to the closest building with a weapon crate spawn location.
• Interact with the green rectangular crate and then follow the loop around these Points of Interest.
• Plaza Rosa > Red Tower > Piazza Arbusto > Corso Da Vinci > Town Hall > Research > Parking Garage > Hospital > Library > Marano Station > Piazza Roma > Grandioso Apartments.
• Use Ziplines if you brought a few in your loadout. They enable the Raiders to traverse the rooftops with each.
• Instead, you could utilize a Snap Hook to maintain your elevated position on the roofs. This keeps you safe from ground-based ARC patrolling the area.
• Move from one POI to another and loot every visible weapon crate if they appear open. Interaction with weapon crates counts towards the Trials score.

4) Deal damage with Blaze Grenades in Season 4 Week 5 Trials

This challenge requires Raiders to craft multiple Blaze Grenades and throw them towards ARCs to damage them. Blaze Grenades require one explosive compound and two oil to craft. This makes it one of the easiest to craft throwables in the game.

Recommended loadout

• Anvil / Bettina
• Four stacks of ammo
• Light Shield
• Shield Rechargers
• Herbal Bandages
• 20x Blaze Grenades

Recommended strat:

• Spawn on maps like Spaceport or Dam Battlegrounds to locate Bastions. The former is recommended.
• Reach the Vehicle Maintenance and Container Storage POIs, as Bastions are a common spawn in this area.
• Get to a high-ground vantage point on either of the two buildings.
• For this Trials challenge, you must chuck a Blaze Grenade on a Bastion and let it burn out.
• Throw another one, then wait for it to burn out, to repeat the process, while being careful not to throw two at once.
• Keep burning the ARC miniboss until you acquire 4000 points in this Trials challenge.

Do note that Blaze Grenades do not stack damage when multiple are thrown at once. This is why you must wait for a current Blaze grenade to die down before deploying another one.

5) Best ways to destroy ARC enemies in the Red Lake for Season 4 Week 5 Trials

For this challenge, players must head to Dam Battlegrounds and look for ARC robots in the Red Lakes. This area is located towards the eastern section of the map. Although you may find certain minibosses like Leapers and Rocketeers here from time to time, your best chance of obtaining three stars is from the Queen during the Harvestor event.

Recommended loadout:

• Anvil / Renegade / Bettina / Jupiter
• Medium Shield
• Shield Rechargers / Surge Shield Rechargers
• Herbal Bandages / Sterilized Bandage / Vita Spray
• 2x Deadlines (optional)

Recommended strategy:

• Reach the Harvester location in the Red Lakes on Dam Battlegrounds.
• Check for the Queen, and start shooting to get her attention.
• Use the Pump House spawn tunnel entrance to evade the Queen’s attacks.
• Use your preferred primary weapon and start shooting her legs. If you have a Hullcracker, shooter for the center of the body since your shots penetrate all ARC armor.
• When Queen’s face is visible, shoot the two small panels on either side of the red light. This will strip the armor and reveal the core.
• Aim for the core and shoot it to cause serious damage to the Queen.
• Repeat the process to acquire 4000 points.

Additionally, if you bring two Deadline mines, run towards the Queen when she is distracted and attach them at the bottom of the shell when she is close to the ground. This deals a massive chunk of damage, enabling you to finish this Trial challenge quickly.

This concludes our coverage of Season 4 Week 5 Trials in ARC Raiders. During each challenge, prioritize survival over higher points since safe extraction is necessary to finalize all Trial scores in the game.

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