Usyk VS Verhoeven Pyramids in Giza May 23 Unified Heavyweight title

[aioc]

Oleksandr Usyk will defend his undisputed heavyweight titles against Rico Verhoeven. Some of us will wonder who Rico Verhoeven is. He happens to be a legendary kickboxer.

Verhoeven (1-0) reenters the world of boxing for the first time since 2014. The 36-year-old Dutchman is who many believe to be the greatest heavyweight kickboxer in modern history. Verhoeven (66-10 kickboxing)

Turki Alalshikh revealed a boxing match between unified heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk and kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven – at the Egyptian wonder of the world. The May 23 bout will stream on DAZN.

Pyramids in Giza hosts Oleskandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven boxing match

Even if he is a legendary kickboxer, the fact that this is boxing and he cannot use his legs to attack or defend against the pound-for-pound heavyweight champion, I did not start a poll here, as obviously, Usyk will be the winner of this match.

[coin-investor]

I don't know why being a legendary fighter in other combat sports made him an outright world title challenger. This is boxing, and boxing is very different from kickboxing; kickboxers rely on distance and legs for attack and defence, without these two, kickboxers are helpless.
But will Verhoeven not be tempted to use his legs because of all the combat experience he relies on? Without his legs Usyk will just impose his power and boxing skills. I expect an early knockout here.

[robelneo]

Without his legs, he will looked like an amateur against Usyk. I'm surprised that DZAN will put up a fight like this. I also love watching kickboxing, but its fundamentals are very different from boxing.
Usyk will just break him down and eventually knock him out. The match could be even if it's an MMA type of fighting, but it's boxing and against the best heavyweight? 

[AmoreJaz]

I don't know why being a legendary fighter in other combat sports made him an outright world title challenger. This is boxing, and boxing is very different from kickboxing; kickboxers rely on distance and legs for attack and defence, without these two, kickboxers are helpless.
But will Verhoeven not be tempted to use his legs because of all the combat experience he relies on? Without his legs Usyk will just impose his power and boxing skills. I expect an early knockout here.

A mismatch and for sure, the promoters are just after for the money that they will generate from it and not really if both fighters are appropriate with each other. They will see it right away that this match should not happen in the first place. So yeah, we can understand if the fight will have heavy favorite in favor of Usyk.

[Yaunfitda]

Probably might end up like Joshua vs Ngannou. Pure boxer with power against a MMA fighter. And obviously it will end bad for the MMA fighter. Somewhat disappointed though that Usyk is willing to go this route as sort of like a exhibition fight. But hey, if HE Turki is behind this fight then Usyk will probably that the lion share of the split here and more and easy work money for him. And from the looks of it, this is just a get busy fight for Usyk. As he could be looking for the winner of the fight between Wardley vs Dubois. And checking the odds, Verhoeven is a 12:1 underdog here.

https://www.oddschecker.com/boxing/fights/oleksandr-usyk-v-rico-verhoeven/winner

[LogitechMouse]

Being a legendary kickboxer doesn't mean he will have the same performance in boxing.

We've seen fighters like McGregor, Woodley, Ngannou, and many more who tried to be a boxer after fighting in the MMA, and all of them didn't end up well after they fought a "REAL" boxer. Now it's the same scenario as this one. A REAL boxer against a kickboxer. He can't use his feet on the ring, and that could affect his overall performance because along the fight, he will always have the hesitation because he thinks that he will be using his feet, but he can't, and that alone could affect his focus - let alone his whole performance.

Well, whenever I see these kind of fights, I always treat it as an "exhibition" even though it's not. I mean it's already a mismatch just by looking at the fighters, and knowing how dominating Usyk is in the heavyweight, for me this kickboxer despite of being a legendary at his sport, will not stood a chance against another legendary boxer like Usyk.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Even Lomachenko couldn’t win a world championship in his second pro fight. Verhoeven is no Loma, and Usyk is far better than Salcido, the guy who fought Loma. This appears to be a significant mismatch in terms of experience. Kickboxing is closer to boxing than MMA is, but that doesn’t mean that you can easily transition and be good enough to defeat a 3x undisputed champion.

I don’t think such historic monuments should be used for this kind of spectacle, but apparently they have had other events like concerts there before. I still feel that this degrades the stature of the pyramids.

[acroman08]

So, he vacated his WBO belt to not fight Wardley so he could fight a "legendary kickboxer"? No offence to Usyk, but this might as well have been an exhibition match, I mean, this is basically the same as Mayweather vs McGregor. It's such a shame he didn't fight Wardley or Parker, that would have been a much better fight, but then again, he probably wants to protect his record.

[viljy]

They'll come up with all sorts of things to get money out of the audience. What happened? Are the heavyweight title contenders over? So this is no reason to give us such a dubious sight. But how about Usyk in boxing gloves versus Jason Statham with brass knuckles? How's that idea? Or some other nonsense. I've been coming to the disappointing conclusion for a long time that the most spectacular and interesting thing left in the heavyweight division is Jake Paul and his staged fights.

[julerz12]

But how about Usyk in boxing gloves versus Jason Statham with brass knuckles? How's that idea?

I almost spat out my coffee while reading your response. You're right, though. These promoters will pair up anybody just to get the money rolling. 
Seriously, Usyk will surely dominate this fight. He's got far more experience in that field than Verhoeven, who's probably training like crazy just to get to a heavyweight boxer's mentality.  Yet, despite his so-called legendary status in kickboxing, he would have to face a tough and battle-hardened Usyk. That dude has some serious footwork compared to other heavyweights who normally just move on a straight line.
For Rico to have a chance at winning this match, he'll have to go all in at the first few rounds and pour in all his might to take down Usyk; otherwise, the undisputed heavyweight champ and his crazy stamina will eat him alive in the later rounds.

[7juju]

I don't know why being a legendary fighter in other combat sports made him an outright world title challenger. This is boxing, and boxing is very different from kickboxing; kickboxers rely on distance and legs for attack and defence, without these two, kickboxers are helpless.
But will Verhoeven not be tempted to use his legs because of all the combat experience he relies on? Without his legs Usyk will just impose his power and boxing skills. I expect an early knockout here.

With or without the leg, it's another flawless victory loading for Usyk. Maybe before then he might have gotten enough briefings to know that he's not permitted to use his leg in boxing fight. I wasn't expecting someone from another combat sports to be the major challenger for Usyk. I was hoping it was going to be someone from boxing, but nevertheless Usyk is never losing this fight.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

They'll come up with all sorts of things to get money out of the audience. What happened? Are the heavyweight title contenders over? So this is no reason to give us such a dubious sight. But how about Usyk in boxing gloves versus Jason Statham with brass knuckles? How's that idea? Or some other nonsense. I've been coming to the disappointing conclusion for a long time that the most spectacular and interesting thing left in the heavyweight division is Jake Paul and his staged fights.

I can speculate that Usyk just wanted to have a easy fight, maybe he knows that his body is not getting younger and it could have been deteriorating because in the last couple of years, he has been fighting top notch opponent in the heavyweight division and clean this division for good.

So maybe he just wanted a fight against the likes of Verhoeven, wanted to test himself against this kind of fighter. Nevertheless, boxing fans are educated and they know that this is just for the money.

[Maslate]

I can speculate that Usyk just wanted to have a easy fight, maybe he knows that his body is not getting younger and it could have been deteriorating because in the last couple of years, he has been fighting top notch opponent in the heavyweight division and clean this division for good.

So maybe he just wanted a fight against the likes of Verhoeven, wanted to test himself against this kind of fighter. Nevertheless, boxing fans are educated and they know that this is just for the money.

No, Usyk has nothing left to prove. He already became undisputed champion and has fought the best. If you ask me, he could’ve retired already.

Now he’s facing boxers many think aren’t championship caliber, but he has that freedom at this stage. Maybe he still gets good competition, who knows.
Honestly, I’m not that interested in watching his fights anymore because I expect him to dominate, just like in his past fights.

[shinratensei_]

This game should be a scandal for Usyk. This is nothing more than a professional boxer who fight a novice. It's so disgusting to see Usyk to choost this fight while he has not yet cleaned his division. He could get a reliable opponent than this. This shows how this freak fight is for money.
It's getting worsen with unfair advantage he got over rico. So i don't think this game is worthy enough to watch.

[coin-investor]

It's getting worsen with unfair advantage he got over rico. So i don't think this game is worthy enough to watch.

People will watch it out of curiosity. Verhoeven has many loyal fans who will cheer for him, and it's from the zone that they will sell this match. I can't wait to see their first faceoff so we can size both fighters.
What if the unimaginable happens, like Verhoeven beats Usyk? That could become the biggest upset in boxing, bigger than when Douglas beat Tyson, which will create a major shake-up in the boxing world.

[Questat]

What if the unimaginable happens, like Verhoeven beats Usyk? That could become the biggest upset in boxing, bigger than when Douglas beat Tyson, which will create a major shake-up in the boxing world.

It could happen, but judging by the odds with Verhoeven at 14x, an upset looks very unlikely.
Unless Usyk somehow underperforms on purpose, which doesn’t make sense, the gap seems too wide.

Honestly, it’s not that interesting of a fight for me. There aren’t many big heavyweight matchups, and even though Usyk is the best in the division, he’s not the most popular name. So maybe his one won't sell as there's no hype on it.