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

I agree. Should just be stripped of the title instead and give it to Kabayel to force a bit of action in the division.

 

Hearn and Joshua were in talks with Verhoeven just prior to Joshua selling out even lower and 'fighting' Jake Paul.

 

No boxer in the history of the sport has the right to hold up the division and the belts; no individual is bigger than the sport, especially one with less than 10 fights at heavyweight, it makes a mockery of the likes of Kabayel, spending a decade and a half scraping to the top only for a kickboxer with 1 boxing fight to get a shot ahead of him. The fact that it is on PPV is worthy of a thread on its own; it adds another layer of horse**** to what is already an enormous pile of ****.

 

This nonsense again.

He hasn't held anything up. He simply hasn't.

-He just relinquished the the WBO belt as not to hold it up.
-Kabayel has said he is next with the WBC, and the WBC have ruled the mando is all right
-He just won the IBF back--which had also relinquished as not to hold up the division--so not due.
The WBA regular, which effectively determines #1, just changed hands.

Nothing has been held up. Nothing has been held up. Nothing.

 

Calling out the world heavyweight champion for fighting a kickboxer as a title defence isn't nonsense. The integrity of the sport is at stake, and every one of these joke fights chips away at it each time. I never thought Usyk would entertain this BS, but this is arguably the worst one yet, given that the most coveted belt in the sport is on the line.

When the lineal and undisputed champion decides to fight a 1-fight novice in a title defence instead of a legitimate contender, that's 100% holding the division up. I said the same about Fury. I thought Joshua vs Ngannou was a joke as well, so I am definitely not giving Usyk a free pass. Kabayel shouldn't have to wait for a kickboxer with no pro boxing credentials before he can get a mandatory shot at the title. Everything else is irrelevant, really.

 

But saying that he has held the sport up when he literally hasn't, is.

The integrity of the sport died when the fans accepted multiple titles. There is one world, there should be one world champion, one #1 contender that has to be faced once a year. No champion should be saddled with having to face an endless parade of unifications, mandatories, contractually obligated rematches, re-unifications ad naseam. The problem here is that a younger generation has become addicted to having multiple "champions" so they can seen a ton of title fights a year.

Usyk has not had a fun optional since cruiserweight. He is taking one, and that is all.

This fight will bring a million new fans to boxing, primarily from a country which hasn't previously patronized it.

None of these belts are anything other than what the champion makes them, and Usyk has made his belts great by beating the three other leading heavies of the post-Klitschko era twice each.

Your priorities are all whacky, here. It's not the WBC that is great, or your indignation. It's Usyk. And he's going down this road. You can enjoy if for what it is, or sit it out. For my part, I'm going to enjoy it for what it is.

In a fight that the richest promotor in boxing is using to bring massive numbers of new fans to boxing.

As derived in the previous post, it simply isn't.

A little more solid ground there, as he fought Ngannou and Chisora III back to back.

Joshua acted honorably and defended boxing after Fury humiliated himself. No belt was on the line. NOt a thing.

I am sure the proprietors of the site are calling Turkyi and Usyk even as we speak to let them know.

Again, the WBC says it is all right as long as he fights Kabayel next, and Agit is fine with that. I was a fan of Agit's long before anyone on here, and that is a matter of record as I predicted he would get a shot against Fury a year before it almost happened. But at the end of the day, Usyk is due to have the fight he wants, after a title victory, a contractual rematch, a mando, a unification, a contractual rematch, and re-unification. I understand--you don't get it. It's not the fight I wan't either. But it is what it is, so enjoy it or don't.

Sorry for some sarcasm. You're a good fellow.

 

Agit knows usyk will never fight him and seems to be fine with it since all he needs to do is to wait until usyk vacates the wbc belt and in the meantime not to face a risky fight he could loose . Then agit will become the first german hw champion since schmeling .

 

Yeah, I think we're looking at it from a few different standpoints here. I don't begrudge Usyk having a voluntary defense. He's earned that right more than most. It's the title being on the line that is my main problem. He can fight who he wants, but having the title on the line just really doesn't sit well with me. It degrades its stature.

The criticism here is justified. I appreciate it as a spectacle, and I respect Rico for his kickboxing prowess; it's not like he is Jake Paul. Anyone in the top 20 would've been fine with me, even someone like Makhmudov, a kickboxer though? Na, I think we have to draw the line somewhere. Have to agree to disagree on this one. Don't worry about the sarcasm either, that Turki and Usyk line made me laugh haha!

 

He had no reason to stop taking PEDs so I can't imagine how his falling off would have anything to do with it . That's an age at which fighters typically decline anyway.

Seems unfair to hold it against him.

 

A) he got caught
B) PEDs testing was getting better by then

It isn't hard to figure out at all. You just don't want to.

 

Athletes take performance enhancing drugs to enhance their performance and it is proof they do enhance performance because athletes are prepared to cheat and risk getting caught to take them.

Jones only stopped taking performance enhancing drugs because he got caught. If he hadn't been caught he would very likely still be taking them.

 

[url]https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.geosuper.tv/amp/54788-oleksandr-usyk-vs-rico-verhoeven-in-danger-of-being-moved[/url]

Is it too much shame for the pharao to host this or what ? There is afaik absolutely no unrest in egypt due to iranian war

 

A "voluntary defense" means a champion picks their own nominally qualified opponent. Opposed to the alphabet people mandating their choice.

It does not mean the champion can choose an opponent off the street. Thats not what voluntary means.

 

It's funny that Usyk vs. Rico is the main event.