Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven came face to face in London on Tuesday for the official launch press conference ahead of their May 23 WBC heavyweight title fight at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The event, branded “Glory in Giza” and promoted by Ring Magazine, will stream globally on DAZN.
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will be making the first defense of the final chapter of a career that has produced undisputed titles in two weight classes. The 39-year-old Ukrainian, who currently holds the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight belts, has not fought since stopping Daniel Dubois in five rounds at Wembley Stadium last July. He was characteristically calm and philosophical on stage, often smiling as he addressed reporters.
“One time, I wanna do what I want, not what’s needed, because a lot of the time, I do what other people need,” Usyk said, explaining why he chose a voluntary defense against a fighter from outside boxing. “‘You have to box like this.’ I say: ‘Ok, ok, ok.’ Now, I do what I need.”
Asked about Verhoeven specifically, Usyk kept it brief: “It’s a great guy. It’s a dangerous guy.”
Verhoeven Pitches the Crossover
Verhoeven, 37, did most of the talking. The Dutchman, who held the Glory Kickboxing heavyweight championship for more than 11 consecutive years and compiled a 60-10 record in the sport, is making only his second professional boxing appearance. His lone bout came in 2014, a second-round knockout of the winless János Finfera.
The path to Usyk was not the original plan. Verhoeven revealed that a fight with Anthony Joshua had been in the works for February before Joshua’s December car accident in Nigeria, which tragically claimed the lives of two members of his inner circle, forced a change in direction.
“The fight was there, only the tragic accident happened, so that’s what derailed everything,” Verhoeven said. From there, the conversation shifted. “I said: ‘What about Usyk? Like, that makes sense. Undisputed versus undisputed.’ So, that’s what happened.”
Verhoeven said the crossover concept was his own pitch. “We were the ones who put it forward,” he told reporters. “Hey, we have an idea, what about Undisputed vs. Undisputed? What do you think? And they said we love it, and that’s how this fight came about.”
He acknowledged that the mainstream boxing audience may not know his credentials, but pointed to the WBC’s kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions as a bridge of legitimacy. “For them, it did make sense,” Verhoeven said. “He’s one of the greatest, if not the greatest kickboxer of all time. So, he has his credentials, so a real title shot makes sense.”
Size, Power, and the Kickboxer’s Case
The physical disparity between the two men was evident on stage. Verhoeven, who stands 6-foot-5 and competes at roughly 275 pounds, dwarfs the naturally built cruiserweight Usyk, who typically enters the ring in the low 220s. It is a weight gap of approximately 50 to 55 pounds, and Verhoeven made no effort to downplay it.
“When I land my best punch on him, of course he will go down because it’s like a 20 kilo weight difference,” Verhoeven said. “He is a built-up cruiserweight. I’m naturally born heavyweight, so that’s the big difference. That’s what’s gonna happen if I let my best shot land clean. And if not, we’re just going to win.”
It was a confident but measured performance from a fighter who understands the skepticism surrounding the matchup. Verhoeven credited trainer Peter Fury for refining his boxing fundamentals and referenced past sparring sessions with Tyson Fury as part of his preparation. Peter Fury, speaking from the stage, noted that Verhoeven had turned down larger paydays in other combat sports to pursue this particular challenge.
“To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” Verhoeven said. “I think to be the very best at what you’re doing, you have to be a little bit crazy.”
What the Bout Means for the Heavyweight Division
The WBC’s decision to sanction a voluntary title defense against a fighter with one professional boxing bout has drawn criticism from portions of the boxing community. The matchup has raised eyebrows among those who believe the heavyweight championship should be contested between proven boxers. But the WBC has pointed to Verhoeven’s standing in kickboxing and its own combat sports divisions as justification, and Usyk’s track record of accepting every meaningful challenge in the sport buys him considerable latitude.
For Usyk, who has said he plans three more fights before retiring, the Verhoeven bout is the first of those final chapters. The heavyweight landscape beyond May 23 remains crowded: Fabio Wardley defends the WBO title against Daniel Dubois on May 9, Anthony Joshua is eyeing a summer return, and Tyson Fury’s future hinges on his recent comeback. Usyk has positioned himself above all of it, free to choose his opponents on his own terms.
Eddie Hearn, speaking during the press conference Q&A, reminded Verhoeven that a win over Usyk would open the door to a potential fight with Joshua, adding another layer to an already unusual promotional narrative.
The face-off was tense but respectful. The undercard will feature Hamzah Sheeraz against Alem Begic for the vacant WBO middleweight title in the co-main event, with Jack Catterall facing Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA regular welterweight title in the featured bout, as announced by Ring Magazine.
Whether Verhoeven’s size, power, and unorthodox angles translate against a fighter of Usyk’s caliber remains the central question. History says they will not. But Verhoeven is banking on the possibility that history can be rewritten at the foot of the Pyramids, and Usyk, for his part, seems perfectly content to let him try.
