Sports
Oleksandr Usyk confirms shocking fight at pyramids as he faces kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven
Oleksandr Usyk’s next fight has been confirmed, with the heavyweight boxing champion defending one of his world titles at the pyramids of Giza, in a stunning development.
Usyk had teased major news throughout the week, which had already been littered with several shocking boxing stories, and Friday brought confirmation of his next outing.
Remarkably, it will take place at the pyramids of Giza in Egypt, as he defends the WBC title against kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven on 23 May.
Usyk, 39, had been linked to the Dutchman, 36, in recent weeks, but the location of the fight comes as a major surprise.
Usyk was recently granted a voluntary title defence for his next bout and was previously linked to Deontay Wilder, but the American was later paired with Derek Chisora. Instead, it will be Verhoeven who vies for Usyk’s WBC belt, while aiming to hand the Ukrainian his first professional loss.
Verhoeven’s kickboxing record stands at 66-10 (21 knockouts), and he is a former long-reigning heavyweight champion, widely regarded as an all-time great in his sport. However, this upcoming fight is just his second in pro boxing, and it comes 12 years after he won his first.
Meanwhile, Usyk is 24-0 (15 KOs) in boxing, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion and a two-time undisputed heavyweight king. He currently holds the WBC, WBA and IBF belts in the latter division.
“I truly respect people who reach the very top in their sport,” Usyk said on Friday. “Rico is one of them. I respect his journey – he’s truly the king of kickboxing. But this is boxing, a different game with its own rules and kings.”
Verhoeven said: “I spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion. I wasn’t looking for comfort, so I started looking for the highest challenge available in another world. Usyk is undisputed in boxing, that’s the kind of challenge that motivates me – undisputed versus undisputed.”
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Verhoeven was linked to Anthony Joshua in December, around the time of the Briton’s fight with Jake Paul, but “AJ” was involved in a car crash 10 days after stopping the influencer. Two of Joshua’s teammates were killed in the crash in Nigeria, in which Joshua was a passenger. The former two-time heavyweight champion’s boxing future seemed unclear, but his promoter Eddie Hearn has already hinted at a summer comeback.
Usyk, who outpointed Joshua in 2021 and 2022, last fought in July, when he stopped Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium. The result came two years after Usyk first TKOed the Briton, and it crowned him a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.
However, Usyk vacated the WBO title in November, one month after Fabio Wardley stopped Joseph Parker to claim the interim version of that belt. Wardley was therefore elevated, and he will defend the official title against Dubois in Manchester on 9 May.
Elsewhere in the division, Tyson Fury will emerge from his fifth retirement when he boxes Arslanbek Makhmudov on 11 April. Following that fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in the English capital, Fury could pursue a trilogy bout with Usyk.
The Ukrainian outpointed Fury twice in 2024, handing the “Gypsy King” his only losses as a pro, and the first of those results marked Usyk’s first undisputed heavyweight triumph.
Usyk vs Verhoeven will stream live on DAZN and will be organised by The Ring magazine and Sela, a Saudi events company. The Ring is owned by Saudi government official Turki Alalshikh.
This week, The Telegraph reported that British promoter Frank Warren is claiming $1bn in lost income from Sela and combat-sports brand TKO, who co-own the new promotion Zuffa Boxing. Warren told the BBC: “It’s just a difference of opinion over the contracts that we signed, so that will just take its course. I can’t make any comment on it. It is what it is.” A representative of Sela told The Independent: “We are disappointed by the unfounded claims brought by Queensberry and Frank Warren. We reject them in their entirety and are confident that the facts will fully vindicate our position.”