These are exciting times for Rico Verhoeven. The top athlete from Halsteren will make his debut as a boxer in three weeks against the undefeated world champion Oleksandr Usyk. In the run-up to the fight, a black and blue Verhoeven shares an update on his Instagram. “It feels and looks like I’ve been run over by a truck,” he laughs.
The former ‘King of Kickboxing’ from Halsteren – fourteen times world champion in that sport – is in a training camp in the run-up to the match on May 23. In the ‘fighthouse’ the boxer has no family around him and no distractions from everyday life.
That is not easy, Verhoeven shares on his Instagram. “It’s a big adventure. I’m working very hard, but it’s starting to pay off,” he says. The former kickboxer needs good preparation, because he will compete between the pyramids of Giza in Egypt against the best heavyweight of the 21st century, with 24 victories, nineteen of which were by knockout.
Makeup
Rico has already been hit several times during his training. “I’m completely blue. It looks like I’m wearing makeup. It feels and looks like I’ve been run over by a truck,” he laughs.
Yet the boxer reassures his fans. He thinks he has a serious chance against the 39-year-old Usyk. “I fight and move differently than traditional boxers. I’m not going to reveal much, but I box unorthodox,” he said earlier.
