Usyk VS Verhoeven Pyramids in Giza May 23 Unified Heavyweight title

[pawel7777]

(...)
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.

You're probably right. Maybe if Verhoeven were a mandatory challenger, it would make sense to run it again if it were declared a no-contest, but I don't see it happening in the current scenario. We will see the rematch only if Usyk's team considers it to be the best option and doesn't see any better and more profitable names.
Kabayel might be a mandatory, but, at this stage of his career, Usyk wouldn't mind vacating one of the belts. So it will be him and his team who will pick his next opponent.

ps. What's the consensus here: was Usyk underperforming, or was Verhoeven massively underestimated?

[bbc.reporter]

~
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. 🥊

I disagree with everyone who will say that Usyk and his team has taken this fight against Verhoeven very much seriously because if Usyk and his team has taken this very serious, we can be quite certain that he will have the victory dominantly.

Does everyone forgotten the fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua already? We can be quite certain that these 2 boxers will put Verhoeven on a stretcher to be pulled out of the ring by his team if they train seriously against him.

@pawel7777. It appears that there are people declaring that Verhoeven was underestimated heheeheh. This certainly includes Usyk heheheheehhehee.

[TopTort777]

Lets wait for Verhoeven next more. He can still return to K1, but there isnt as much money as in boxing. He can test himself more in boxing, and only then we will get answers if he really was underestimated, Usyk tricked us or did not train at all. Or Rico will sign for MMA/UFC finally. This industry is hunting him for long time, but they cant find agreement on numbers.

[DrBeer]

"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...

I am not a professional, I performed at the amateur level, but I have been boxing, actively, for more than 15 years. I took part in competitions, I have awards. So I know boxing pretty well. I can say two key things.
1. I have not conducted 12 round fights. But when you are in the heat of the fight, and you realize that you have a "high stakes" at stake, you just finish the opponent, all available methods. When the adrenaline is running high, "humane behavior" takes a back seat.
2. one of the referee's tasks is to prevent a situation when one of the opponents cannot adequately assess the situation and cannot defend himself.
A knockout with a punch to the body - it's hard for me to imagine how it is, unless it's the liver area or not closed and not trained solar plexus.
And most punches are always aimed at the head. Believe me - one missed punch to the head, when you did not group and did not "close in time", is a very high risk of traumatism, disability and probably death, which unfortunately happens in boxing. The 12th round would have ended with a real HARD knockout of Verhoeven, and I don't think it would have been a "beautiful ending" if his condition was already blocked.
Just revisit the footage on his movements after the fight was stopped, reaction, coordination.
At the same time I will say once again - Verhoven turned out to be a VERY quality opponent who created a lot of problems for Usik, and if not for the knockdown, the game could have ended, deservedly, not in Usik's favor!

[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...

I am not a professional, I performed at the amateur level, but I have been boxing, actively, for more than 15 years. I took part in competitions, I have awards. So I know boxing pretty well. I can say two key things.
1. I have not conducted 12 round fights. But when you are in the heat of the fight, and you realize that you have a "high stakes" at stake, you just finish the opponent, all available methods. When the adrenaline is running high, "humane behavior" takes a back seat.
2. one of the referee's tasks is to prevent a situation when one of the opponents cannot adequately assess the situation and cannot defend himself.
A knockout with a punch to the body - it's hard for me to imagine how it is, unless it's the liver area or not closed and not trained solar plexus.
And most punches are always aimed at the head. Believe me - one missed punch to the head, when you did not group and did not "close in time", is a very high risk of traumatism, disability and probably death, which unfortunately happens in boxing. The 12th round would have ended with a real HARD knockout of Verhoeven, and I don't think it would have been a "beautiful ending" if his condition was already blocked.
Just revisit the footage on his movements after the fight was stopped, reaction, coordination.
At the same time I will say once again - Verhoven turned out to be a VERY quality opponent who created a lot of problems for Usik, and if not for the knockdown, the game could have ended, deservedly, not in Usik's favor!

Then if you are that good at boxing, you can spot a place and opportunity in your opponents defense to end fight without a devastating knockout. Liver, spleen, ribs - aim there instead of head (and the brain). I wish ref would allow 12th round to start, Rico would have a minute to at least try to clear his mind, and in the beginning of 12th round Usyk could land a shot to liver and end the fight. That would look more fair and look like Usyk won fight. Instead now we get a controversial win, where some say that judges helped a lot to win. I think you would agree that it is better and better remembered when you won it by yourself, than judged decided that you won.

[DrBeer]

"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...

I am not a professional, I performed at the amateur level, but I have been boxing, actively, for more than 15 years. I took part in competitions, I have awards. So I know boxing pretty well. I can say two key things.
1. I have not conducted 12 round fights. But when you are in the heat of the fight, and you realize that you have a "high stakes" at stake, you just finish the opponent, all available methods. When the adrenaline is running high, "humane behavior" takes a back seat.
2. one of the referee's tasks is to prevent a situation when one of the opponents cannot adequately assess the situation and cannot defend himself.
A knockout with a punch to the body - it's hard for me to imagine how it is, unless it's the liver area or not closed and not trained solar plexus.
And most punches are always aimed at the head. Believe me - one missed punch to the head, when you did not group and did not "close in time", is a very high risk of traumatism, disability and probably death, which unfortunately happens in boxing. The 12th round would have ended with a real HARD knockout of Verhoeven, and I don't think it would have been a "beautiful ending" if his condition was already blocked.
Just revisit the footage on his movements after the fight was stopped, reaction, coordination.
At the same time I will say once again - Verhoven turned out to be a VERY quality opponent who created a lot of problems for Usik, and if not for the knockdown, the game could have ended, deservedly, not in Usik's favor!

Then if you are that good at boxing, you can spot a place and opportunity in your opponents defense to end fight without a devastating knockout. Liver, spleen, ribs - aim there instead of head (and the brain). I wish ref would allow 12th round to start, Rico would have a minute to at least try to clear his mind, and in the beginning of 12th round Usyk could land a shot to liver and end the fight. That would look more fair and look like Usyk won fight. Instead now we get a controversial win, where some say that judges helped a lot to win. I think you would agree that it is better and better remembered when you won it by yourself, than judged decided that you won.

You probably didn't hear me
When there is a fight, you don't think about how to deliver a crushing knockout with minimum risk ! You're focused on one thing only: winning by the best method available. A punch to the liver? Are you serious? Ask any boxer with only 2-3 years of experience to punch you in the liver and then tell me how it feels ! A punch to the ribs? You think that's gonna stop a big, athletic opponent? Don't aim for the head ? Ask a boxer to spar with you, but without aiming at your head and tell here what he will tell you )
I assume that you have not been in the ring, so you are saying things VERY far from the reality of boxing. Tell me - have you ever been in the ring?

[chinhar]

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?

This was a resurgence fight for Usyk, as he's been sidelined for a while. The problem is that he was losing on the scorecards, and obviously they can't afford for their golden goose to lose. That's why the referee stopped the fight, and only after five punches was thrown did the bell ring. Now, for all those who say the referee stopped the fight because Usyk would have destroyed him, i say i would have liked to see what would have happened. Rico himself said he wanted to finish in the twelfth round and fight until the end. He would have recovered a bit by the end of the 11th round, but knowing what boxing is like, they would never have given him the win, considering he's a kickboxer. i still feel sorry for Rico; he deserves all the respect! A great champion.

[coin-investor]

Because of pushing Usyk to the limit, the World Boxing Council has granted Verhoeven a ranking. Verhoeven only has two fights in his boxing career, against Janos Finfera in 2014, and Usyk just this month, it's a big leap for Verhoeven's very young career in boxing.

[jeremypwr]

I was able to catch the highlights of this match and it seems there is some controversy.
It seems like the challenger was winning the fight up until the ref stopped it and some say it was too early to stop it.

[robelneo]

i still feel sorry for Rico; he deserves all the respect! A great champion.

Some people feel that he deserves a rematch, but unfortunately he needs to defend his titles to his mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel, the only consolation for Verhoeven is that he is going to have a WBC rank in only his second, this is considered a big achievemtn already.
With Verhoeven performance, many boxers who Usyk will likely face will have ideas on how to neutralize Usyk, many boxing aficionados feels Usyk performance is declining, could be a sign of age

[fullfitlarry]

i still feel sorry for Rico; he deserves all the respect! A great champion.

Some people feel that he deserves a rematch, but unfortunately he needs to defend his titles to his mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel, the only consolation for Verhoeven is that he is going to have a WBC rank in only his second, this is considered a big achievemtn already.
With Verhoeven performance, many boxers who Usyk will likely face will have ideas on how to neutralize Usyk, many boxing aficionados feels Usyk performance is declining, could be a sign of age

But not sure if that could be achievement though, will Verhoeven goes full pro boxing? If yes then yeah, maybe that ranking might have some weight but still he has to face more boxers and we haven't seen anyone successfully cross over to boxing from MMA.

Francis Ngannou might be the closest one, but he opted to go back to MMA and if I'm not mistaken, the same thing has been said to him. That he got the respect because he almost beat Fury, but looking right now, it doesn't mean anything. So that could be the case for Rico in the future.

[bbc.reporter]

Because of pushing Usyk to the limit, the World Boxing Council has granted Verhoeven a ranking. Verhoeven only has two fights in his boxing career, against Janos Finfera in 2014, and Usyk just this month, it's a big leap for Verhoeven's very young career in boxing.

This is a remembrance for Usyk heheheh. He will witness Verhoeven fight again in boxing and he will remember where he has almost received a very upsetting loss and how he was saved by the referee on round 11!

Also, I predict that uncle Dana and the billionaire Arab master Turki will negotiate something with Verhoeven and include him in Zuffa boxing promotion.

[Jostern]

I was able to catch the highlights of this match and it seems there is some controversy.
It seems like the challenger was winning the fight up until the ref stopped it and some say it was too early to stop it.

Personally I really didn’t understand why the fight was stopped, I didn’t watch the life broadcast of the game, I was only able to watch some clips of the game.

Usyk was doing a very nice job not until the referee have to stop the matchup reasons best known unto them for taking such decisions.

However I still don’t understand why they will have to award a belt to the Challenger, probably I don’t know much about boxing so I have been quite confused.

[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...

I am not a professional, I performed at the amateur level, but I have been boxing, actively, for more than 15 years. I took part in competitions, I have awards. So I know boxing pretty well. I can say two key things.
1. I have not conducted 12 round fights. But when you are in the heat of the fight, and you realize that you have a "high stakes" at stake, you just finish the opponent, all available methods. When the adrenaline is running high, "humane behavior" takes a back seat.
2. one of the referee's tasks is to prevent a situation when one of the opponents cannot adequately assess the situation and cannot defend himself.
A knockout with a punch to the body - it's hard for me to imagine how it is, unless it's the liver area or not closed and not trained solar plexus.
And most punches are always aimed at the head. Believe me - one missed punch to the head, when you did not group and did not "close in time", is a very high risk of traumatism, disability and probably death, which unfortunately happens in boxing. The 12th round would have ended with a real HARD knockout of Verhoeven, and I don't think it would have been a "beautiful ending" if his condition was already blocked.
Just revisit the footage on his movements after the fight was stopped, reaction, coordination.
At the same time I will say once again - Verhoven turned out to be a VERY quality opponent who created a lot of problems for Usik, and if not for the knockdown, the game could have ended, deservedly, not in Usik's favor!

Then if you are that good at boxing, you can spot a place and opportunity in your opponents defense to end fight without a devastating knockout. Liver, spleen, ribs - aim there instead of head (and the brain). I wish ref would allow 12th round to start, Rico would have a minute to at least try to clear his mind, and in the beginning of 12th round Usyk could land a shot to liver and end the fight. That would look more fair and look like Usyk won fight. Instead now we get a controversial win, where some say that judges helped a lot to win. I think you would agree that it is better and better remembered when you won it by yourself, than judged decided that you won.

You probably didn't hear me
When there is a fight, you don't think about how to deliver a crushing knockout with minimum risk ! You're focused on one thing only: winning by the best method available. A punch to the liver? Are you serious? Ask any boxer with only 2-3 years of experience to punch you in the liver and then tell me how it feels ! A punch to the ribs? You think that's gonna stop a big, athletic opponent? Don't aim for the head ? Ask a boxer to spar with you, but without aiming at your head and tell here what he will tell you )
I assume that you have not been in the ring, so you are saying things VERY far from the reality of boxing. Tell me - have you ever been in the ring?

Then you did not hear me as well. There are less harmful ways to end a boxing fight despite knocking your opponent. Your opponent can go to full defense and even though he dont get hit or take serious damage, his corner can always throw a towel. Why would ref jump in if there was 1 second left? Who has decided that Rico was completely out and could now recover during pause between rounds? During 1-10 rounds he looked good.

I am not trying to question Usyk win. Probably he would not let Rico go and finish during first minute of 12th round. But ref spoiled whole joy and event. Left a bad aftertaste from watching their fight.

P.S. I was not in the ring, but took part in taekwondo tournaments during youth. Overall I dont have much fight, I guess there are less than 10 and good number of sparring during years of practice.

[eisen33]

Because of pushing Usyk to the limit, the World Boxing Council has granted Verhoeven a ranking. Verhoeven only has two fights in his boxing career, against Janos Finfera in 2014, and Usyk just this month, it's a big leap for Verhoeven's very young career in boxing.

This is a remembrance for Usyk heheheh. He will witness Verhoeven fight again in boxing and he will remember where he has almost received a very upsetting loss and how he was saved by the referee on round 11!

Also, I predict that uncle Dana and the billionaire Arab master Turki will negotiate something with Verhoeven and include him in Zuffa boxing promotion.

The story with Verhoeven is a bit non standard. This was not a standard contender situation like in regular boxing, it was a fight organized more like a high-level exhibition bout, and the WBC title was on the line. To a large extent, this fight became possible because Verhoeven was a multiple time kickboxing champion, and he had strong media presence in kickboxing, something like the best kickboxer vs the best boxer in the world. Usyk actually had mandatory challengers for title defenses, but the organization chose a more commercial, higher profile fight instead.

[TopTort777]

They will try to do everything to get attention from Usyk and his controversial win, and make this fight be more valuable First to explain why Usyk was even fighting a kickboxer. Second to cover referee screw this fight. Third, now they will try to find Rico another opponent quick to show how really cool boxer he is and to explain why Usyk took it that hard to win.