A controversial stoppage in Round 11 of the epic Glory in Giza, Oleksandr Usyk (24-0) vs Rico Verhoeven (1-0) Heavyweight bout, put an end to what was almost a greater Rocky story than the Rocky story itself!
Kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, in only his second professional boxing match, brought the heat to Unified Champion Oleksandr Usyk, and set the pace for the entire match. In fact, so far ahead was Rico, that Usyk only had rounds 4 and 10 to his credit. It was late in Round 10 that Usyk engaged the form that everyone had expected, and which had not been seen in this bout until this point. It was Rico who started in an aggressive manner that had not been his usual style in his kick-boxing matches, but one that he was surprisingly able to sustain right to the end. Standing 6’5″ and weighing 251 pounds, Rico is a giant! Against him, Usyk, the highly active, super sharp and highly intelligent world champion, seemed unprepared and smaller. He seemed unable to find a predictive way around Rico’s relentless Jab and forward moving style, taking a lot of punishment all the way through to late 10th Round. Whether that was strategic, or simply how long it took to find vulnerability in the Giant Superman, it was in the 11th that we saw the Usyk we all know and love. A punishing upper cut in the final 25th second put Rico down and almost through the ropes. The clock stopped at the final 10 seconds to allow Rico’s corner to return the mouthguard. That caused concern for Usyk who complained about the time taken as Rico was making recovery, but when the clock started again, that made no difference! Usyk boxed Rico into the corner where he let loose a flurry of combinations to dominate him.
What happened next was the controversy that didn’t need to be! The referee stopped the fight on the bell to end Round 11, giving Usyk the victory via TKO. However, what fans and both fighters wanted to see, was continuation into the 12th and final round! For Usyk, a clean, well setup knock-out defeat was inevitable in Round 12 and would have been a finish worthy of his caliber of Champion. For Rico, in his own words, he would have preferred to `go out on his shield’ and allowed the opportunity to see the fight through. For fans, they were denied the opportunity to see Usyk in a definitive and non-controversial victory or Rico defeated in battle or stand victorious in a Rocky story on steroids.
Conspiracies of a fixed fight abound, however what seems more truthful, is that it took Usyk 10 Rounds to figure out vulnerabilities in Rico’s unusual aggressive style, and the pressure of knowing that only a knock-out would give him victory, created the motivation for the recovery that we saw. By that point, Rico’s weight and pace together with the power of the uppercut delivered by Usyk took their toll. A 12th round knockout victory was inevitable.
Having said that though, Rico demonstrated that he can box. And box at levels very worthy of a heavy weight title. What we may be seeing, is the era of a Cruiserweight starting to sunset and an opportunity for the Heavyweight division to return to the big Heavyweight fighters. Rico is most certainly at the levels of Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua. We haven’t seen the last of Rico who said he’ll remain in boxing, but it’s great to see Usyk remain undefeated.
At the end of the fight, Usyk was challenged, (inappropriately I think), to a bout with German boxer Agit Kabayel. Kabayel is the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBC Title and is in line anyway. It was not appropriate to hijack the moment where a rematch with Rico was much more the next natural step given the nature of the stoppage and the dominance to that point. Although Usyk responded to Kabayel’s challenge with “Let’s do it, no problem”, which choice Usyk will make, remains to be seen.
Round-by-round report for Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven at Glory in Giza, held at the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
OLEKSANDR USYK vs. RICO VERHOEVEN WBC Heavyweight Championship — Glory in Giza, Pyramids of Giza, Egypt Result: Usyk wins by TKO, Round 11 (2:59)
ROUND 1
Verhoeven moved around the ring extensively in the opening round, working to establish his rhythm against the pound-for-pound champion. Usyk was notably passive and failed to land with volume. Through one round, Verhoeven appeared comfortable at heavyweight boxing’s highest level. Round scored 10-9 Verhoeven.
ROUND 2
Verhoeven backed Usyk into the ropes and landed multiple punches. The champion remained uncharacteristically restrained and failed to mount meaningful counter-offense. Running score: 20-18 Verhoeven.
ROUND 3
Verhoeven continued as the aggressor. The challenger connected on a significant body shot mid-round. Usyk landed a handful of shots late in the stanza but not enough to claim the frame. Running score: 30-27 Verhoeven.
ROUND 4
The most competitive round of the fight to that point. Verhoeven maintained his high punch volume and fast pace, but Usyk responded by landing big shots of his own. The round was scored 10-9 Usyk, trimming the deficit. Running score: 39-37 Verhoeven.
ROUND 5
Verhoeven continued pressing forward and landing, though Usyk landed the more telling punches of the round. Another narrow frame scored 10-9 Usyk. Running score: 48-47 Verhoeven.
ROUND 6
Neither fighter produced significant damage in the sixth. Usyk did marginally more and took the round narrowly. Running score: 57-57 — level heading into the second half of the fight.
ROUND 7
Verhoeven recaptured the initiative, landing multiple power shots. Usyk had no effective answer for the Dutchman’s combination work and movement in this round. Running score: 67-66 Verhoeven.
ROUND 8
Verhoeven connected with a massive right hand and had the champion pinned on the ropes again. The challenger showed no signs of being troubled by anything Usyk threw. Running score: 77-75 Verhoeven.
ROUND 9
Verhoeven continued to get the better of Usyk, though the champion kept advancing rather than retreating. The round was clear for Verhoeven. Running score: 87-84 Verhoeven.
ROUND 10
Verhoeven started strong, however Usyk took the round in the end. Usyk landed a handful of big punches in the closing seconds to claim the round. After ten rounds, two judges had the fight even at 95-95, while one judge had Verhoeven ahead by a round, 96-94.
ROUND 11
Usyk began turning the tide against a visibly fatiguing Verhoeven. He landed a perfectly-timed uppercut on the stumbling Dutchman late in the round, sending Verhoeven to the canvas for the fight’s only knockdown. Verhoeven lost his mouthpiece in the exchange, which brought a halt to the action with approximately 10 seconds remaining in the round, affording him additional recovery time. When action resumed, Usyk immediately unloaded again, and referee Mark Lyson stepped in to halt the contest with the round all but over. The stoppage was called at 2:59 of the 11th round — the full three minutes of the round.
AFTERMATH
The stoppage drew immediate and widespread criticism, with fans and observers noting that Verhoeven was stopped with effectively no time left in the round. Verhoeven was clearly upset with the stoppage in the heat of the moment, before composing himself and expressing gratitude to those in the ring following the official decision. With the win, Usyk retains his WBC heavyweight title and improves to 25-0 with 16 knockouts. Verhoeven falls to 1-1 in professional boxing. Ring Magazine owner Turki Alalshikh called for a rematch in the immediate aftermath, while also hinting at a potential unification bout with Agit Kabayel for Usyk
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