Usyk VS Verhoeven Pyramids in Giza May 23 Unified Heavyweight title

[fullfitlarry]

Damn, I did not know this fight was interesting.

After reading your comments, I think I now need to watch the highlights myself. I thought this was just another exhibition fight against an unknown boxer, especially knowing how dominant Usyk has been in the heavyweight division.

But after seeing the scorecards, I really can’t believe it. Maybe this fight was a lot closer and more interesting than I expected.

Yes, I fight that we thought that it could be one sided, turns out to be very interesting.

And now boxing fans around the world are talking about the stoppage and there are two sides of the story. I even read that there should be a rematch, but I don't think that Usyk will have another of this kind of performance in a rematch.

[bbc.reporter]

Usyk should win because he’s smarter in the ring, moves better, and stays calm under pressure. He doesn’t just throw power shots, he breaks people down over time.

Verhoeven Pyramids might be strong but Usyk’s experience, footwork and cardio usually make the difference when fights go late.

Hehehehe why do you call him Verhoeven Pyramids?

In any case, it appears Usyk underestimated Verhoeven? I did not watch the fight, however, it appears that there are many fans who were declaring that the fight from round 1 to round 6 was for Verhoeven and it appeared to become an upset?

@bisdak40, @Boafeng. What is your analysis?

[TopTort777]

A very strange fight. Usyk was not Usyk we used to see. I dont believe that Rico is or was that good in boxing. Standing 11 rounds against undisputed heavyweight champ, that is either impressive or rigged. Btw, on the cards it was 5-5 by rounds. If not that strange stoppage, it might be getting to draw or close and split win for Usyk. This fight shows once again how corrupted boxing is. It is better to lose like Rico, than have such a win as Usyk.

There is no way someone like Oleksandr Usyk would participate in a rigged competition where he looks really weak and gets pushed to the limits. Like you mentioned, without the stoppage he would have lost the fight or it would have ended up in a draw on the scorecards.

It was surprising to see Oleksandr Usyk struggling with his footwork. May be not having much footage to learn his opponent's movement might have troubled him, or perhaps may be what @bbc.reporter was speculating had some truth and they do not want the fight going to the judges as they never expected the fight to be this close.  

Ok, it wasnt rigged, then wtf was that? Circus went to far away that event organizers were forced to interfere in it and end until it was to late? I dont think that Usyk let Rico box like that, to make fight last longer for crowd and make a longer show. Obviously, for some reason Usyk was not himself in this fight. Possibly there was a hidden injury or something else that has influenced on his performance. I doubt that he did not train or underestimated Rico.

[viljy]

At first, I was very skeptical about this fight. But there was a surprise waiting for us! Rico turned out to be quite a serious opponent. By the way, it seems he has filed an appeal. In general, this was the most interesting event this month, especially compared to Ronda and Gina, who instead of a spectacle just disappointed the fans.

[DrBeer]

Either the promoter(s) didn't do a great job, or I'm not the best in being a boxing fan, but I had no clue such fight was happening until I started getting news feeds about how it ended.

I watched the highlights and I'm impressed by how well Verhoeven performed. I don't know how he got to fight for the belt, given it was only his 2nd boxing fight, but the fight was VERY close, both in terms of number of punches landed:

source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/live/cd0pgj9lelpt

and in terms of judges' score:

If the fight ended after 10 rounds, it would be a majority draw.

I'm not sure what to think of the stoppage. Stopping the fight 1 second before the end of the round, when Verhoeven wasn't even knocked down, sounds horribly unfair at first glance, especially considering how close the fight was.
But if we consider a wider picture: the fact that Rico has been counted and had to resort to spitting out his mouth guard to buy himself more time, and the fact that he was still visibly wobbly on his feet when the fight was resumed and the fact that the referee had no knowledge of the scorecards' results and that time remaining in the round should not play any role in the decission of stopping the fight - I think it was justified.

"Stopping the fight one second before the end of the round, when Verhoeven wasn’t even knocked down, seems terribly unfair at first glance, especially considering how close the fight was". To understand what happened, it would be ideal to have boxing experience. I’ve devoted many years to boxing, and I can say that after a knockdown (and this was a hard knockdown, though not a knockout), a boxer may LOOK perfectly "normal", he’s conscious, but he no longer has full control of his body, and his reaction time is unacceptably slow.
 If he is sent back into the ring after 9 seconds, his opponent will assume the boxer is in “fighting form” and will naturally put all his strength into finishing the fight. And this is the most terrifying moment-the opponent is faced with a boxer who is effectively defenseless (which his opponent doesn’t realize, since the referee said "everything’s okay"), and it’s extremely easy to injure him!
 A punch from Usyk, or indeed any heavyweight or super-heavyweight, can be, if not fatal, then at least extremely traumatic for someone unable to defend against it, as has happened more than once in boxing history. I am not a fan of “bloody fights” where, simply because someone felt the fight was “stopped incorrectly,” people end up disabled or die in the ring.

[eisen33]

At first, I was very skeptical about this fight. But there was a surprise waiting for us! Rico turned out to be quite a serious opponent. By the way, it seems he has filed an appeal. In general, this was the most interesting event this month, especially compared to Ronda and Gina, who instead of a spectacle just disappointed the fans.

Yes, the appeal was filed almost immediately after the fight. I didn’t even know about it at first. But honestly, I doubt that the appeal will be accepted, because if it is, that would mean Verhoeven would have the right to get a break and then continue the fight in the 12th round. I just don’t see the point in that. If he wasn’t able to do anything throughout the entire fight, then what does he expect to achieve in just one round? On the other hand, maybe he hopes that he could at least get a draw on points, but I highly doubt that will happen.

[TopTort777]

"Stopping the fight one second before the end of the round, when Verhoeven wasn’t even knocked down, seems terribly unfair at first glance, especially considering how close the fight was". To understand what happened, it would be ideal to have boxing experience. I’ve devoted many years to boxing, and I can say that after a knockdown (and this was a hard knockdown, though not a knockout), a boxer may LOOK perfectly "normal", he’s conscious, but he no longer has full control of his body, and his reaction time is unacceptably slow.
 If he is sent back into the ring after 9 seconds, his opponent will assume the boxer is in “fighting form” and will naturally put all his strength into finishing the fight. And this is the most terrifying moment-the opponent is faced with a boxer who is effectively defenseless (which his opponent doesn’t realize, since the referee said "everything’s okay"), and it’s extremely easy to injure him!
 A punch from Usyk, or indeed any heavyweight or super-heavyweight, can be, if not fatal, then at least extremely traumatic for someone unable to defend against it, as has happened more than once in boxing history. I am not a fan of “bloody fights” where, simply because someone felt the fight was “stopped incorrectly,” people end up disabled or die in the ring.

If you are a professional with years and hundreds fights as experience, you can spot that your opponent is in standing knockout or knockdown, and finish by body punch, not even into liver. It isnt necessary to land a heavy overhand or uppercut to almost finished opponent. You can even land a series of punches (that connect), and ref would stop the fight because one of the fighters isnt protecting but eating all the damage. It would be correct to let 12th round to start, and Usyk would finish Rico in light way, kinda a mercy finish. But instead we got what we have got - strange stoppage and lot of negative discussion about how Usyk won...

[eaLiTy]

~
Ok, it wasnt rigged, then wtf was that? Circus went to far away that event organizers were forced to interfere in it and end until it was to late? I dont think that Usyk let Rico box like that, to make fight last longer for crowd and make a longer show. Obviously, for some reason Usyk was not himself in this fight. Possibly there was a hidden injury or something else that has influenced on his performance. I doubt that he did not train or underestimated Rico.

Since the fight ended because the referee stopped the fight. My wild speculations is that, it is possible that the organizers and the referee were in it together and hence called off the fight after the bell rang. They were not expecting this fight to be this competitive. If the fight had gone to the judges, it would have been too close for comfort, as the decision could have gone either way and hence the referee stepped in to protect the expected outcome, to save their golden goose from getting humiliated by a crossover fighter . If that is the case, the fighters themselves might not be involved.

I am not debating that the fight stoppage was controversial, these controversies are common in Boxing. A prime example is the 2023 match between Rolando Romero and Ismael Barroso. Ismael Barroso was winning the fight when the referee stopped the fight prematurely. You can find many examples throughout boxing history.
 

[stadus]

Damn, I did not know this fight was interesting.

After reading your comments, I think I now need to watch the highlights myself. I thought this was just another exhibition fight against an unknown boxer, especially knowing how dominant Usyk has been in the heavyweight division.

But after seeing the scorecards, I really can’t believe it. Maybe this fight was a lot closer and more interesting than I expected.

Yes, I fight that we thought that it could be one sided, turns out to be very interesting.

And now boxing fans around the world are talking about the stoppage and there are two sides of the story. I even read that there should be a rematch, but I don't think that Usyk will have another of this kind of performance in a rematch.

Since it became controversial, are we going to see a rematch of this fight?

I mean, they already caught the attention of the fans. If that fight did not sell much before, the next one might sell better because people are now interested to know if Verhoeven can really beat the heavyweight champion.

Because let’s admit it, Usyk has dominated other famous boxers in the heavyweight division, then this happened and a lot of us were surprised. So a rematch would probably make sense now, especially with the controversy and the curiosity from fans.

[chinhar]

"Stopping the fight one second before the end of the round, when Verhoeven wasn?t even knocked down, seems terribly unfair at first glance, especially considering how close the fight was". To understand what happened, it would be ideal to have boxing experience. I?ve devoted many years to boxing, and I can say that after a knockdown (and this was a hard knockdown, though not a knockout), a boxer may LOOK perfectly "normal", he?s conscious, but he no longer has full control of his body, and his reaction time is unacceptably slow.
 If he is sent back into the ring after 9 seconds, his opponent will assume the boxer is in ?fighting form? and will naturally put all his strength into finishing the fight. And this is the most terrifying moment-the opponent is faced with a boxer who is effectively defenseless (which his opponent doesn?t realize, since the referee said "everything?s okay"), and it?s extremely easy to injure him!
 A punch from Usyk, or indeed any heavyweight or super-heavyweight, can be, if not fatal, then at least extremely traumatic for someone unable to defend against it, as has happened more than once in boxing history. I am not a fan of ?bloody fights? where, simply because someone felt the fight was ?stopped incorrectly,? people end up disabled or die in the ring.

If you are a professional with years and hundreds fights as experience, you can spot that your opponent is in standing knockout or knockdown, and finish by body punch, not even into liver. It isnt necessary to land a heavy overhand or uppercut to almost finished opponent. You can even land a series of punches (that connect), and ref would stop the fight because one of the fighters isnt protecting but eating all the damage. It would be correct to let 12th round to start, and Usyk would finish Rico in light way, kinda a mercy finish. But instead we got what we have got - strange stoppage and lot of negative discussion about how Usyk won...

The referee was clearly unfair! The bell rang, so by law the round was over, and Rico would have had time to recover, but instead the fight was stopped, which was unfair to him since he was winning. And coincidentally, since Usyk couldn't figure out how to adapt to Rico and to prevent him from being disfigured by a kickboxer, they had to do this injustice. I truly feel sorry for Rico.

[Lannakosa]

Since it became controversial, are we going to see a rematch of this fight?

I mean, they already caught the attention of the fans. If that fight did not sell much before, the next one might sell better because people are now interested to know if Verhoeven can really beat the heavyweight champion.

Because let’s admit it, Usyk has dominated other famous boxers in the heavyweight division, then this happened and a lot of us were surprised. So a rematch would probably make sense now, especially with the controversy and the curiosity from fans.

I think a rematch is out of the question, because Verhoeven was largely unknown to many boxing fans before this fight. And since he was the challenger and lost, I doubt he will have the right to a rematch. Besides, to be honest, the fight was very boring and quite controversial. Verhoeven didn’t show anything outstanding, and I don’t see any reason why anyone would want to see another fight like that. If there had been moments where he was dominant or at least landed a couple of good shots, then it could be discussed, but the fight from both sides was weak. That’s why I strongly doubt there will be a rematch.

[coin-investor]

Since it became controversial, are we going to see a rematch of this fight?

From the promoters' standpoint, a rematch is still possible if there's demand to do it again, but I doubt if the outcome will be the same, as this is a boxing match, Usyk can adjust his style and put more effort into his offense and defense

Because let’s admit it, Usyk has dominated other famous boxers in the heavyweight division, then this happened and a lot of us were surprised. So a rematch would probably make sense now, especially with the controversy and the curiosity from fans.

I don't think Verhoeven can adjust; he has a long way to go in developing a boxing style, while Usyk, who's been in boxing for decades, can study what went wrong and adjust accordingly to Verhoeven's style. Usyk was overwhelmed by Verhoeven's style, so the outcome is not what we expected.

[YOSHIE]

I think a rematch is out of the question, because Verhoeven was largely unknown to many boxing fans before this fight.

Yes, I think so too, a rematch is impossible and it won't happen.
The reason Verhoeven once said.

Even though he failed to win the championship belt, Verhoeven was still satisfied with his performance in the professional boxing duel against Usyk.

"I am very proud of my performance and hopefully the boxing world accepts me as a boxer," said Verhoeven.

Here we can conclude, actually Usyk is not Verhoeven's opponent, while Usyk is quite well known in the boxing ring while Verhoeven is not, but Usyk's boxing with Verhoeven is an honor for Verhoeven. I think this is a golden opportunity for Verhoeven to promote himself in the world of boxing, unfortunately he lost, if he had won yesterday, the story would have been different.

[pawel7777]

Some say the stoppage was already done after the ball, and Verhoeven says he will consider appealing against it. I'm not sure what would happen if such an appeal is successful. The best he can hope for is probably to scrap that loss off his record, but I don't think WBA would order a rematch just based on that.
A rematch could still happen, as controversial decisions like that get fans more excited, and re-running the fight could get more views than the first fight.

I'm not sure what Usyk's plans are right now. If I remember correctly, he mentions that he wanted to have two more fights after the rematch with Fury before retiring. He fought twice since then, first against Dubois and now against Verhoeven.

[TopT3ns]

Since it became controversial, are we going to see a rematch of this fight?

I mean, they already caught the attention of the fans. If that fight did not sell much before, the next one might sell better because people are now interested to know if Verhoeven can really beat the heavyweight champion.

Because let’s admit it, Usyk has dominated other famous boxers in the heavyweight division, then this happened and a lot of us were surprised. So a rematch would probably make sense now, especially with the controversy and the curiosity from fans.

I think a rematch is out of the question, because Verhoeven was largely unknown to many boxing fans before this fight. And since he was the challenger and lost, I doubt he will have the right to a rematch. Besides, to be honest, the fight was very boring and quite controversial. Verhoeven didn’t show anything outstanding, and I don’t see any reason why anyone would want to see another fight like that. If there had been moments where he was dominant or at least landed a couple of good shots, then it could be discussed, but the fight from both sides was weak. That’s why I strongly doubt there will be a rematch.

Authorities of the world boxing can be tempted to pit their holders of heavy weights against their next obligatory challengers ensuring that they keep their prestige of champions. A loss without a fight on the part of the challenger would kill the prospect of an automatic rematch provision in the contract. The promoters will unilaterally concentrate on making profits by organizing new fights which will have a lot more exciting fights.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Some say the stoppage was already done after the ball, and Verhoeven says he will consider appealing against it. I'm not sure what would happen if such an appeal is successful. The best he can hope for is probably to scrap that loss off his record, but I don't think WBA would order a rematch just based on that.
A rematch could still happen, as controversial decisions like that get fans more excited, and re-running the fight could get more views than the first fight.

I'm not sure what Usyk's plans are right now. If I remember correctly, he mentions that he wanted to have two more fights after the rematch with Fury before retiring. He fought twice since then, first against Dubois and now against Verhoeven.

The appeal probably won’t be successful because legally, the referee is allowed to stop a fight in between rounds. In this situation, Verhoeven wasn’t hurt to the point he couldn’t recover during the break, so it is still unfair whether it is legal or not. When Tyson Fury was badly hurt by Usyk and stumbling all over the ring, he was still allowed to continue. There is clearly a double standard that can only be explained by incompetence or corruption.

The sanctioning organizations can order an immediate rematch, but their is also Agit Kabayel who is WBC mandatory. I don’t think Usyk cares about the belts anymore and will fight whoever the Saudi promoters want him to face.

[Dave1]

Some say the stoppage was already done after the ball, and Verhoeven says he will consider appealing against it. I'm not sure what would happen if such an appeal is successful. The best he can hope for is probably to scrap that loss off his record, but I don't think WBA would order a rematch just based on that.
A rematch could still happen, as controversial decisions like that get fans more excited, and re-running the fight could get more views than the first fight.

I'm not sure what Usyk's plans are right now. If I remember correctly, he mentions that he wanted to have two more fights after the rematch with Fury before retiring. He fought twice since then, first against Dubois and now against Verhoeven.

The appeal probably won’t be successful because legally, the referee is allowed to stop a fight in between rounds. In this situation, Verhoeven wasn’t hurt to the point he couldn’t recover during the break, so it is still unfair whether it is legal or not. When Tyson Fury was badly hurt by Usyk and stumbling all over the ring, he was still allowed to continue. There is clearly a double standard that can only be explained by incompetence or corruption.

The sanctioning organizations can order an immediate rematch, but their is also Agit Kabayel who is WBC mandatory. I don’t think Usyk cares about the belts anymore and will fight whoever the Saudi promoters want him to face.

That's what I wanted to see for Usyk, fight Agit Kabayel, at least a new name in town besides, Fury, AJ or Dubois. And this could excite Usyk again as there is hype of Kabayel right now and for sure fans of the heavyweight division, we wanted fresh blood.

So let's see, if there will be a rematch with Rico, it could end bad for him as I don't think that Usyk will make the same mistakes as the last one. He is too smart and obviously doesn't want any question mark in his resume when he retires for good.

[bbc.reporter]

Damn, I did not know this fight was interesting.

After reading your comments, I think I now need to watch the highlights myself. I thought this was just another exhibition fight against an unknown boxer, especially knowing how dominant Usyk has been in the heavyweight division.

But after seeing the scorecards, I really can’t believe it. Maybe this fight was a lot closer and more interesting than I expected.

Yes, I fight that we thought that it could be one sided, turns out to be very interesting.

And now boxing fans around the world are talking about the stoppage and there are two sides of the story. I even read that there should be a rematch, but I don't think that Usyk will have another of this kind of performance in a rematch.

Since it became controversial, are we going to see a rematch of this fight?

I mean, they already caught the attention of the fans. If that fight did not sell much before, the next one might sell better because people are now interested to know if Verhoeven can really beat the heavyweight champion.

Because let’s admit it, Usyk has dominated other famous boxers in the heavyweight division, then this happened and a lot of us were surprised. So a rematch would probably make sense now, especially with the controversy and the curiosity from fans.

I very much wish there will be a rematch and the oddsmakers will be very optimistic on Verhoeven and give higher odds for Usyk hehehe.

We can be quite certain that Usyk did not train 100% for this fight because he thought Verhoeven will also not take the fight very seriously. It was very much similar to Rocky vs. the Apollo in the movie Rocky 1. Has everyone watched this?

[stompix]

Some say the stoppage was already done after the ball, and Verhoeven says he will consider appealing against it. I'm not sure what would happen if such an appeal is successful. The best he can hope for is probably to scrap that loss off his record, but I don't think WBA would order a rematch just based on that.

It will be declared a no-contest, and that's all!
Nobody is going to change it from one winner to the other, nor will they order a re-match!
Of course, if Don King were still involved  , you would be seeing some weird stuff happening, but fortunately those times are over!

The sanctioning organizations can order an immediate rematch, but their is also Agit Kabayel who is WBC mandatory.

They won't, this is not Davis vs. Roach or something and even that went for years without a match before WBA again took action.

[eaLiTy]

~
I very much wish there will be a rematch and the oddsmakers will be very optimistic on Verhoeven and give higher odds for Usyk hehehe.

It is highly unlikely we will see a rematch. If that happens the oddsmakers will not make Verhoeven such a heavy underdog as before.

We can be quite certain that Usyk did not train 100% for this fight because he thought Verhoeven will also not take the fight very seriously. It was very much similar to Rocky vs. the Apollo in the movie Rocky 1. Has everyone watched this?

It is impossible to predict whether Usyk took this fight lightly, but it took him four rounds to start changing his entry angles. If Verhoeven had won, it would have been an upset on the level of Buster Douglas.

Anyone who loves boxing has watched the Rocky movies. 🥊