..well known for doing what for example Thais didn't tend to do before the Dutch Muay Thai invasion—use good striking combinations sprinkled with fluid low kick accent, and actually switching to a wider stance and possibly an angle when up close when their aggressive gameplan got them in that range. Usyk looked damn slow both body and mind, and would still very likely finish Rico or sweep the cards in the final round, but.. Rico Verhoeven exemplified the spirit of Dutch kickboxing. What you see in Ramon Dekkers, Bas Ruten, Ernesto Hoost, and as far as I'm aware Alistair Overeem. Conditioned, relentlessness aggression that actually pays a lot of respect to the art of boxing and its place in the world of striking. Shades of both Chakuriki and Mejiro Gym. If there was any champion kickboxer that could have crossover into the sport, it should have been a Dutch one, and Rico is not damn Ngannou, nor a disgraced drunk McGregor. He is from a style that developed in the most unlikely place, brought from an unlikely trip to Japan, incorporating and paying homage to the striking we all love here on this forum. No better man to cement himself in history by giving an utterly unprepared Usyk some tough times.
tldr; Dutchies love some boxing striking, just not outside angle restricted by kicks, but aggressive inside angles and combinations.
Watching the 2008-2010 Grand Pris Kickboxing events it's pretty evident a lot of those kickboxers had/have some good Boxing fundamentals. Guys like Badr Hari, Goekhan Sakhi and Tyrone Spong threw good fast body hooks and combinations. Tyrone Spong was also supposed to be Usyk's first opponent at Heavyweight.
