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Rico Verhoeven has doubts about one rematch against Oleksandr Usyk after Saturday night’s defeat. He said this on Monday evening in Eva Jinek’s talk show. According to Verhoeven, after the fight he is in any case ‘the uncrowned king’.
Since Saturday evening, boxing fans have been talking about the match between Verhoeven and Usyk in Giza, Egypt, close to the pyramids. The day after the fight, Verhoeven’s coach called it ‘a great shame’ that the referee stopped the fight.
The former kickboxer from Halsteren is especially proud after the match against Usyk, he said at Eva Jinek on Monday evening. “I was there against the very best boxer in the world, perhaps the best boxer ever. The whole world saw it. For the people I am the king, the uncrowned king.”
The 39-year-old Oleksandr Usyk from Ukraine has been considered the best boxer in the world for years, while Verhoeven, as the world’s best kickboxer, only trained for six months for the boxing fight. Verhoeven started his match well, he thought: “I executed what we came up with. That went fantastic. I heard ‘let’s go, Rico‘. I think we went really well.”
Usyk knocked Verhoeven down in the eleventh and penultimate round with a right uppercut, after which the referee gave Verhoeven an eight count. Verhoeven continued, but the referee decided to end the match. “Then I should get eight recovery counts,” Verhoeven said indignantly on Monday evening. “This guy just starts counting with 4, 5. Friend, true 1, 2 and 3? When you’re reeling, every second counts.”
“Just say: sorry, you’re right, we should have done this differently.”
Although Verhoeven ‘does not want to be sour’ about his loss, he has protested against the referee’s action. “I want justice. Just say, ‘Sorry Ricyou’re right. We should have done this differently.'”
Verhoeven hopes that there will be some kind of interim solution, a so-called no contest. “There is no winner and no loser. But he still has the title. In my opinion, that is the most fair.”
Or one rematch comes, as the organizing Saudi sheikh suggested? “Boxing is a completely different world,” says Verhoeven, who became an undefeated kickboxing champion for years. “I don’t know how things will turn out. I do have the feeling that I am the uncrowned king. The whole world was turned upside down.”
In this video you can see how the referee ended the match:
