After a difficult decision to give up his world title, Rico Verhoeven is looking to the future with good courage. The 36-year-old kickboxer announced this week that he is ending his time as heavyweight champion with Glory after twelve years. As a little boy from Halsteren, he dreamed of that title and trained in the gym for hours on end. “That’s where the foundation was laid,” he looks back now.
The decision to quit kickboxing organization Glory was not made overnight. “What made it difficult is that as a child I had the dream of becoming world kickboxing champion. I succeeded and so well that I kept it up for twelve years. Full of pride and passion. To close that chapter is something you do. But it is the right step,” the kickboxer tells Omroep Brabant.
How did Verhoeven’s career start?
As a boy from Halsteren, he fell in love with martial arts at an early age. He started with karate at the age of 7, and not much later he took up kickboxing. “I often think back to the training sessions in a small gym in Tholen. That is where the foundation was laid for the Rico that stands today. Full of discipline, focus and perseverance.”
The world champion looks back on that time with gratitude. “When I think back to how I felt at that time, it wasn’t always easy.”
Verhoeven took up kickboxing professionally in 2004 and fought in the first years for organizations such as K-1, It’s Showtime and Superkombat. His real breakthrough came when he made his debut with Glory in 2012. At the heavyweight tournament that year, he experienced the match that impressed him the most.
“The match against Sem Schilt was really intense. He told me that I would become world champion within one or two years and the following year I indeed became world champion. That was really very special.”
The match against Sem Schilt made the biggest impression on Rico.
Why is he leaving Glory?
According to his manager Karim Erja, Verhoeven wanted to extend his contract with Glory, but in the end no agreement was reached and he no longer wanted to wait for a deal. He also criticized Glory’s doping policy. “The butcher inspects his own meat. A clean sport is an important value for Rico,” Erja said NOS Sports.
Yet voluntarily giving up his world title had been on the kickboxer’s mind for some time. “A few years ago I wrote on paper how I see myself in five years. One of those things was to stop as reigning kickboxing world champion and I did that. I am very proud of that.” His fans do not have to mourn, because Verhoeven is looking for new challenges in the ring and outside.
What will he do now?
So he continues steadily with his acting career. “I am now on the film set of a Hollywood film with big stars. That is not normal, a dream come true,” he says proudly.
In a video call with the NOS he announced that he is in discussions with the UFC, the largest MMA organization (mixed martial arts) of the world. “I think I could do this well. I have trained in MMA for a long time and have also been Dutch champion among amateurs and professionals.”
The fighter would like to fight a match in Brabant, for example in the Philips Stadium. “I think it would be great to play a match there, but the roof of the stadium cannot be closed. That makes it a challenge,” he laughs.