WBA make last minute decision on Usyk’s world title just days before Rico Verhoeven fight

With just nine days to go until Oleksandr Usyk defends the WBC heavyweight world title against Rico Verhoeven, the WBA have decided to allow him to defend their belt also.

Whilst recognised as a Dutch kickboxing legend, Rico Verhoeven boasts a professional boxing record of just 1-0; that victory coming over 12 years ago against the then 0-5 recorded, Janos Finfera. 

As a result, when his unconventional showdown with Usyk was announced, the undefeated Ukrainian’s belts were not expected to be at stake, but whilst the WBA and IBF’s stance was unclear, the WBC controversially agreed to sanction the contest as a heavyweight world title bout.

This led to speculation that WBA and IBF could strip Usyk of their titles, with Murat Gassiev [WBA] and the victor of Frank Sanchez’s fight with Richard Torrez Jr. [IBF] likely to benefit and either be elevated to champion or positioned for a vacant title bout with the respective bodies.

However, in an intriguing but confusing twist, the WBA have suddenly announced their terms for the ‘title fight’ after a ‘special request’. Now, they have determined that a Usyk victory will count as a successful title defence but that, if Verhoeven were to pull off the remarkable upset, ‘the WBA Championship Committee would then review his [Usyk’s] status’. 

“Should Usyk emerge victorious, the bout will officially count as a successful title defense. If the champion were to lose, the WBA Championship Committee would then review his status and determine the next course of action regarding the heavyweight championship.”

Therefore, whilst Usyk can officially retain his WBA heavyweight world title with a triumph next Saturday, the unranked Verhoeven will be unable to claim that belt.

Although, the WBA have revealed that a Verhoeven win would make him eligible to enter their heavyweight ratings.