Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven will be making history this weekend as their WBA and WBC heavyweight title clash emanates from the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
You could see the tension rise a bit on the Usyk side at Thursday’s press conference, as he appeared agitated by Verhoeven’s assessment of possible ways to win. At the same time, the unified heavyweight champion was tired of talking and ready to showcase his skills inside the ring.
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Usyk and Verhoeven had one final look at each other before they stood across the ring with the gold on the line during Friday’s weigh-in.
Both guys easily made weight as Verhoeven stepped on the scale first, and the ‘King of Kickboxing’ came in at 258.7.
Then the jovial champion, who happily went on the scales first when he got announced, made his way to the dais and weighed a career-heaviest 233.3 pounds.
Usyk and Verhoeven went face-to-face and had a highly intense staredown. They were going eye-to-eye with Verhoeven at one point, leaning in to get a better look. It could have gone another few minutes to see who would blink first and step away, but promoter Eddie Hearn put his arm in front of Verhoeven, and both guys went their separate ways.
The former GLORY kickboxing heavyweight champion made it clear he didn’t come to Egypt to finish in second place.
“The main emotion is finally we are here. It’s been so long, six months of crazy hard work,” Verhoeven said at the weigh-in.
“We are writing history again here at the pyramids.”
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) was respectful of Verhoeven’s accomplishments and knows what he brings to the table on Saturday.
“He’s a dangerous guy,” Usyk said.
“He’s undisputed in kickboxing. Not only good legs, but hands too. But he’s dangerous.”
This article originally appeared on DAZN and was reproduced with permission