The confrontation between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven is scheduled for May 23rd in Giza, Egypt.
Usyk — Verhoeven / © Associated Press
On Saturday, May 23rd, the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk will engage in a bout against the renowned kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.
The Ukrainian and the Dutchman will compete under boxing rules in the Egyptian city of Giza.
The boxing ring will be erected outdoors in a specially constructed temporary arena next to the iconic pyramids, built for this fight.
The WBC heavyweight title will be on the line – this will be a voluntary defense of the championship by the Ukrainian. Verhoeven will claim it if he defeats Usyk.
Oleksandr will also be defending his WBA and IBF titles. Should he lose, he will forfeit these belts, but they will not transfer to Verhoeven, as the Dutchman is not currently ranked by these organizations.
Furthermore, the victor of the Usyk — Verhoeven bout will receive a special WBC belt, dubbed the “King of the Nile.”
Start Time of the Usyk — Verhoeven Fight
The boxing evening in Giza commences at 18:00 Kyiv time. The main event, Usyk — Verhoeven, is anticipated to begin approximately at 23:45 Kyiv time.
The contest between Usyk and Verhoeven will be broadcast in Ukraine by the online television platform Kyivstar TV. A live text commentary of the fight will be available on our website.
Usyk — Verhoeven: What to Know Before the Fight
This marks the first time in Usyk’s career that he will face not a professional boxer, but a competitor from another combat sport. In professional boxing, the 39-year-old Ukrainian boasts 24 victories (15 by knockout) from 24 bouts.
Oleksandr last entered the ring in July 2025, when he knocked out Britain’s Daniel Dubois, securing the undisputed world champion status for the third time in his career. He initially unified all belts in the cruiserweight division (up to 90.7 kg) and subsequently did so twice in the heavyweight division.
In November of last year, Usyk relinquished his WBO title, consequently losing his status as the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
The 37-year-old Verhoeven, often referred to as the “King of Kickboxing,” is considered one of the greatest kickboxers of all time. Throughout his career in this discipline, he has competed in 76 fights, emerging victorious in 66. The Dutchman’s last defeat was in January 2015; since then, he has maintained a winning streak of 22 fights.
Rico held the Glory heavyweight kickboxing world championship title for over 11 years. He holds numerous Glory records, including the most title fight victories (14) and the highest number of wins overall (28).
In his most recent match in June of last year, the Dutchman defeated Russia’s Artem Vakhitov, after which he retired from kickboxing to pursue a major challenge in boxing.
Verhoeven has stepped into a boxing ring only once before – in April 2014, he knocked out Hungary’s Janos Finfera in the second round, before continuing his career in kickboxing.
It was previously reported that bookmakers had identified the favorite for the Usyk — Verhoeven bout.
Comments Sort: New Old Popular Submit