Usyk survives the upset, stops Verhoeven in round 11 at the Pyramids of Giza

[Mickey the Mouth]

Oleksandr Usyk lands a straight right hand en route to an 11th-round TKO victory over Rico Verhoeven to retain the WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles at the Pyramids of Giza on Saturday.

GIZA, Egypt — Nobody came to the Pyramids of Giza expecting to see Oleksandr Usyk get outworked. But for ten rounds on Saturday night, that is exactly what happened. Rico Verhoeven, the greatest kickboxer of his generation and a man with exactly one professional boxing match on his record heading in, came ready to fight. More than ready. He came to take the heavyweight title.

In the end, Usyk retained his WBA, WBC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles with a TKO stoppage at 2:59 of the 11th round, the referee waving it off with seconds remaining after Usyk dropped Verhoeven with a right uppercut and immediately swarmed him. But the scorecards told a more complicated story. Through ten rounds, at least one prominent ringside scorer had the Dutch challenger ahead. On the DAZN broadcast, open scoring had Verhoeven leading heading into the championship rounds. This was not the coronation anyone expected.

Verhoeven came out aggressive in round one, something the broadcast noted was completely out of character from his kickboxing style. It worked. He pressured Usyk, moved well, and landed an overhand right that turned heads. He kept attacking the body throughout the early rounds, using his 25-pound weight advantage to bully Usyk into corners and smother his movement.

Through the middle rounds, Usyk looked nothing like himself. He could not find his rhythm, could not cut angles, and seemed content to wait rather than initiate. Verhoeven kept marching forward, landing to the body, and taking rounds. By the seventh, one scorecard had him ahead 59-55. By the eighth, the broadcast had the fight dead even. The biggest upset in boxing history was alive and breathing in the desert air.

Usyk finally showed urgency in round ten, landing shots that backed Verhoeven up and got the crowd going. But it felt like too little, too late. Heading into the 11th, the champion needed something bigger. He got it. With about 20 seconds left in the round, Usyk landed a right uppercut that put Verhoeven on the canvas. The mouthpiece fell out. The referee called a timeout to replace it, which drew an immediate reaction from Usyk, who objected to the break. When action resumed, Usyk moved in fast and unleashed a barrage of punches. The referee stepped in immediately and stopped the fight at 2:59 of the round, with one second technically remaining on the clock.

The stoppage was unusual, and will be debated. A knockdown with one second left, a mouthpiece timeout, and a stoppage the instant the fight resumed. Verhoeven and his camp may have strong feelings about how the final sequence played out. What cannot be debated is what he accomplished for ten rounds before it ended.

Usyk moves to 25-0 with 16 knockouts, surviving the closest call of his heavyweight reign. Verhoeven, in just his second professional boxing match, pushed the unified heavyweight champion to the brink in front of one of the most iconic backdrops in the history of sports. Whatever skepticism surrounded this fight beforehand, Verhoeven earned the right to have it retired.

The questions that follow Usyk now are different than the ones that followed him in. He survived, yes. But the version of Usyk who went ten hard rounds against a kickboxer with one boxing fight on his record will face much tougher scrutiny heading into whatever comes next. The king kept his crown in Giza. He did not look invincible doing it.

Result: Oleksandr Usyk def. Rico Verhoeven via TKO, Round 11 (2:59) | WBA, WBC, and Ring Magazine Heavyweight Championships

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