Rico Verhoeven had increasing prospects of a sensational victory over Oleksandr Usyk, until the world boxing champion from Ukraine knocked him to the ground with a right uppercut just before the end of the eleventh and penultimate round. The Halsteren resident was given an eight count, but quickly got up and continued. To his great surprise, the referee ended the riveting fight moments later. “This wasn’t a knockout, was it?” he stammered in front of his dressing room. “Just let me finish that match.”
The 37-year-old Verhoeven felt like he was ahead when he went down. “But I also knew that as a kickboxer I had to be much better to win,” he said. “I understand that a bit. It is a bit strange when a kickboxer becomes world boxing champion after six months of hard training. The eleventh round was over in just a few seconds. Then I would have had a minute of rest and could fight another round. That would also have been fun for the spectators. I was so close to the world title.”
Verhoeven won fourteen world titles in kickboxing and found a new challenge in boxing. He was immediately allowed to challenge Usyk in a fight for the world title of the prestigious boxing association WBC. “Almost no one gave me a chance. Many people thought I wouldn’t last four rounds,” said the fighter from Halsteren. “I think they have a completely different image of me now.”
The former King of Kickboxing also amazed himself in a temporary arena next to the illuminated pyramids of Giza. He brutally attacked the unbeatable Usyk, who had won all 24 of his matches. Many spectators sided with the underdog. “Let’s go Rico,” they shouted. “That was great to hear over and over again,” said Verhoeven, who gave out and had to collect. “I felt like I was boxing wonderfully.”
“Maybe I became overconfident,” Verhoeven said about Usyk’s crucial push in the eleventh round. “That shouldn’t have happened to me. As a kickboxer you only fight five rounds. Usyk has much more experience. He did it smart. But it feels unsatisfactory to lose like that.”
Apparently Turki Al-Sheikh, the Saudi billionaire who brings many top athletes to the Middle East and also financed the fight between Usyk and Verhoeven, thought so too. “He thought it was unbelievable that the match ended like this,” said the Halsteren resident. “He said that I deserve a second chance in the Netherlands. I have to wait and see what comes my way now. I am already 37 years old, but I can also box. I have shown that and it makes me proud.”