Rico Verhoeven shares the exact moment he started to feel that Oleksandr Usyk’s fight seemed a bit off.
Kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven shared his thoughts on why his recent boxing match, a loss to Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt, felt a bit unfair to him.
Usyk kept his WBC heavyweight title after the fight was stopped in the 11th round near the Pyramids of Giza. Even though Verhoeven couldn’t win the WBA and IBF belts, Usyk’s defense of those titles was also recorded.
Verhoeven wasn’t happy with the referee’s decision to stop the fight and felt the fight was against him from the start. Many in the boxing world also questioned the call, and Verhoeven is asking for a rematch.
On The Ariel Helwani Show, Verhoeven said, “After round eight, and with the fight still tied, I started feeling like something wasn’t right. I think I was winning those rounds. I don’t see how I lost some of them when I barely got hit but landed several punches on him.”
Usyk, who is from Ukraine, remains unbeaten with 25 wins. He’s held multiple world titles since beating Anthony Joshua in 2021.
Verhoeven, 36, was boxing professionally for the first time since 2014, which he thinks may have affected how he was judged in Egypt. He has had an amazing 20-year kickboxing career with 66 wins and only 10 losses, staying undefeated for over ten years.
The fight was closer than Verhoeven’s claim that he won eight of the ten rounds. He actually landed one more punch than Usyk, who came back strong in the 11th round. Two judges had the score tied before the stoppage, and the third had Verhoeven slightly ahead.
After the fight, Verhoeven told the media, “I just wanted the referee to let me finish the fight or go into the last round. The scorecards were pretty even. I’m very thankful to everyone who came out to support us here at the pyramids. Thank you all!”
He added, “I’m really proud of how I performed, and I hope the boxing world accepts me as a boxer. I’m so happy to be here.”