Oleksandr Usyk says Rico Verhoeven was the toughest opponent of his Boxing career

Until we see Rico fight someone else decent, we just won't know.

It's entirely possible Usyk genuinely believes that - if he's declined, it's possible that it was actually more difficult than it should have been.

It's also entirely possible that Usyk is just being nice and/or respectful - wouldn't be the first time.

 

Can't wait for Rico to get KO2'd by some random contender lol

 

Well, he's the man who actually fought Rico, so I'd be inclined to agree with Usyk. Style wise it was a nightmare that no other heavyweight has really attempted because they keep thinking they can either play Usyks game better or win via KO.

 

I think Rico could beat Wilder...

 

Given the totality of the circumstances, yes. In absolute terms, Rico is worse than Fury, Joshua, Dubois and probably Chisora, Briedis and Hunter too.

 

Rico is a monster, kickboxing goat.

 

What a way to stick the knife all for all the aging contenders who never got a title shot.

 

That's wild, because I think Rico beats all of them.

 

We'll have to wait unti we see Rico fight more top contenders, and also keep an eye on Usyk to see if this was the start of a major decline, but I honestly think it's possible that he might actually just be simply that good.

Even though he loves kickboxing, and has done it all his life, he's clearly been simply TOO good for the sport. Being champion for 12 years... undefeated since 2015, that is just insane. Sure, Usyk may be aging and/or had an off night, but I can't see how someone can perform as good as that against him without being the real deal. Against Fury... sure. We've seen how ill-disciplined Fury can be and seen him struggle against fighters he shouldn't have struggled against before. But Usyk? We're talking about an ATG here who I've never seen look like that before. Time will tell. But for now, welcome to boxing Rico Verhoeven. It's always great to have yet another heavyweight contender in the mix.

 

I told you all...

 

That boy don’t like pressure fighters

 

Pretty embarrassing for the HW division that a rookie kickboxer was Usyk's toughest fight lol.

 

This shows his team is right, Usyk is becoming deluded.

This opponent is obviously better than people thought and in general boxing fans are mongs who think boxing is magical and people in other striking sports could never do anything in boxing even when it's proven all the time and as far as kickboxing goes it even has 'boxing' in the name and they punch the same, not like it's karate chops.

But Usyk is 39 and should realise this is probably why it was his hardest fight. If he doesn't, then he is entering Wlad K deluded mode where 'age is just a number'. Soon he'll be sewing flashcards with secret sauna footage of himself into his robe to reveal after the fight and other K2 weirdo-isms, along with 'mindfulness' quotes on his social media.