Verhoeven is a solid HW contender by any reasonable standard

I am frankly hoping he retires. I think the win is 100% legit, and knew it was going to be a lot tougher than most think, but I thought he'd take control in 8th and have it wrapped up by ten.

 

It was a cherry-pick. This is not up for debate. Even Usyk fanboys defended the matchup before the fight happened by saying, "Usyk deserved a break after his run at heavyweight." This was supposed to be an easy fight, and he failed to make it look like one. Usyk could have retired or fought Kabayel, but he chose to do neither.

Mahmoudov is better than Ngannou. He was actually a decent boxer whose ability declined, and either way, he wouldn't have been folded up like a lawn chair by AJ the way Ngannou was. Mayweather didn't hold up a division to fight McGregor. He hadn't fought in almost two years, and he wasn't sitting on multiple belts or mandatory obligations.

Also, why bring up Wlad? I'm not a Wlad fan by any means, but he fought some weak opponents because he was competing in one of the weakest heavyweight eras. Even then, guys like Williamson, Rahman, and Mormeck would have an excellent chance of beating Verhoeven. And Wladimir's best wins absolutely dogwalk Verhoeven: Byrd, Peter, Ibragimov, Brewster, Brock, Thompson, Chagaev, Chambers, Haye, Povetkin, and Pulev.

I also find it funny that @Redbeard7 doesn't use the best example of cherry-picking, Deontay Wilder, because he's a Wilder fanboy.

 

Kabayel tried to get the knockout too soon, and like Usyk, Kabayel normally loses the first couple rounds. A 3rd round TKO, stopped too early if you ask me, is better than a come-from-behind robbery. The bell rang, and the fight was stopped with Rico still on his feet. Abolute sh*t stoppage.

 

I agree the stoppage was terrible, I'm just pointing out that Kabayel (despite being next in line for a shot) has barely fought anyone with a pulse for most of his career. Stylistically it'll be an interesting fight and a good mando, but i'd be surprised if Usyk didn't knock Kabayel out in the mid rounds.

 

I'll reserve judgement 'til he fights at least one more top tier boxer. Usyk'd toy with him were they to rematch, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

Rico will go the same way as ngannou if a bigger guy that can punch gets their hands on him. Usyk an accumulation puncher but couldnt get his accumulation going because the big guys right hand was too dangerous. Someone that doesnt rely on accumulation wont have that same problem tho. Rico still dangerous but a bad style for him will get him out of their a lot quicker.

 

He was 1-0 with a win over a 0-5 opponent. This fight should be retconned as a title fight. It shouldn't count. Rico shouldn't be considered HW contender.

 

I agree with this.

Honestly, I would be totally fine with someone like him being fast tracked to a title shot due to his background.

Loma and Inoue were quickly given title shots due to their background. If we allow amateur boxing to fast track guys, then I think pro combat sports that have a strong emphasis on boxing can too.

It just shouldn't be an instant title shot. Rico could have easily done 5-6 fights in a year to year and a half, then give him the shot.

 

Wait...is that true?!

 

Rico didn’t trouble Usyk because Usyk is slipping — he troubled him because he brought a completely different kind of pressure than traditional heavyweight boxers. Rico was able to hit Usyk from awkward angles, especially when Usyk thought he was safely out of range. That’s a kickboxing rhythm and geometry problem, not a decline problem.

Rico’s skillset is genuinely unique. He applies pressure in a way boxers aren’t used to: long‑guard framing, diagonal entries, tall posture, and punches thrown from “kick range.” When you’ve never seen that before, it’s hard to read, hard to time, and hard to prepare for in sparring.

And it’s not like Rico is some young, fresh fighter catching an old champion. He’s near the same age as Usyk and just as battle‑worn. The difference is that people underestimated how well his awkward, multi‑range pressure would translate into a boxing ring.

So it wasn’t Usyk looking bad,it was Rico being a lot better, a lot trickier, and a lot more unpredictable than anyone expected. His style is simply hard to deal with when you’ve never faced anything like it.

 

If you can do that in your second pro appearance then you definitely belong in amongst the rest, remains to be seen if that performance transfers to other opponents.

 

I think it was a combination of both tbh. Usyk at 37 probably gets the job done more definitively if we're being honest. I don't want to take too much credit away from either fighter.

 

We are going to need more of a benchmark to go by on Rico’s level than one fight against an overweight and unmotivated post 39 year old Usyk.

If he has 2 more fights at a decent level we can then start comparing him to boxers from other eras.