Rico Verhoeven vs Oleksandr Usyk official for WBC Heavyweight Championship — May 23 in Egypt (DAZN)

It's not just a soft touch. It's a fight with someone with zero professional boxing fights. The fact he's only fighting once per year makes this worse.

I like Usyk, but damn if he's going to do stuff like this he needs to drop the belts because it's a slap in the face for the mandatories.

 

Usyk would never do something like this we should hold our horses until there's an offical announcement

 

Sup fear, I like you so imma warn you right now not to hop on the Bud defense wagon.

-Ellerbe

 

Not the fight I really want to watch but hey… Rico is the best kickboxer of the last decade EASILY and top 5 all time. Yes he’s not a pure boxer but the guy knows how to throw his hands obviously!

Could be worse! Usyk could fight some MMA fighter with a 0-0-0 pro boxing record instead. But instead he’s taking on the best HW kickboxer in the world. Could be worse.

 

His pro boxing record is 1-0. He beat a guy with no wins.

His supposed "amazing" kickboxing record is against a bunch of guys with no fights. 25 guys with no wins. And he couldn't stop most of them.

His last three opponents over the past two years were 11-3, 4-0 and 3-1. He didn't stop any of them.

He only scored 16 KOs in 27-year-career.

He's never gone more than a scheduled five rounds. Three of his last four fights were scheduled for just three rounds.

He'll be 37 in April.

This is pathetic. By any measure.

 

Usyk DQ win when Rico kicks him?

 

He's got one pro boxing fight against a guy with no wins. He's only got 16 knockouts in 65 kickboxing fights. He's never gone more than five rounds. 50 of his 65 fights were scheduled for 3 rounds. Most went the distance.

Even when he can use his feet, he can't knock people out.

This qualifies as one of the absolute worst World Heavyweight Title fights of all time.

 

And if he can't cash grab now when theres no question whatsoever that he's clearly still on another level to the rest, then when? The other contenders can fight their own little round robin. These last few years are for Usyks more than well deserved chariot carried laps of hounour.

 

Usyk has earned this right. Like I said, he beat the game already.

 

I stand partially corrected.

But this still isn't an acceptable opponent for a current champion. It wasn't ok for Fury, and I hold Usyk to the same standard.

Realistically this guy stands zero chance no matter how good a kickboxer and sparring partner he was.

When this fight takes place his last fight would have been 10 MONTHS AGO. I'm sorry Serge but at some stage we have to call it out for what it is.

 

That "MMA fighter" was also the heavyweight UFC champion renown for knocking people out.

While it was a **** take of a fight, it's still better than this.

 

I would not have a problem with this if Usyk would just reduce down to one title. Let Kabeyal and Gassiev have their belts, fight Verhoevan, Pereira, Wilder and Ruiz, and if he wants to circle back later to get Wardley or Kabayel, great.

But do it with one title. Maybe even the Zuffa belt.

 

Is this official?