Heavyweight boxing king Oleksandr Usyk retained his titles after a dramatic and controversial stoppage victory over kick-boxer Rico Verhoeven with a second left of the 11th round in Egypt.
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In the shadow of the Great Pyramid of Giza, Verhoeven had rocked the Ukrainian champion and seemed to be leading before he was dropped and eventually stopped.
“I thought it was an early stoppage but in the end it’s not up to me,” Verhoeven told DAZN.
“I wanted the referee to let me go out on my shield or let me go in the 12th. I felt we were pretty even on the scorecards.”
Verhoeven later suggested he could take further action in an interview with Boxing News after watching back the contentious finish.
“I just saw the end because of all the comments I was reading, and they stopped the fight after the bell,” Verhoeven told Boxing News.
“So the bell went, and then they stopped the fight. So yeah, I think we might just go and appeal it because this doesn’t make any sense, right? Like if the bell goes and then stop the
fight then why, you know, it’s like then it’s my time to rest.”
He said he was thankful for the opportunity and revealed that Usyk had offered him a rematch.
“I am super proud of my performance and hopefully, the boxing world embraces me as a boxer,” he added.
Despite having fought the likes of former champions Tyson Fury, Antony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, Usyk was given perhaps his toughest heavyweight fight by a man who had only boxed once before, in 2014.
Verhoeven is a legend of kick-boxing but no one expected him to cause the great Usyk so many problems in a boxing bout.
“I know right now, Ukrainian people are sitting in the bomb shelter, my daughter too, in a bomb shelter, sent me a message saying, ‘Papa, I love you, you will win’,” said Usyk, who retained the WBA, WBC and IBF belts.
“Thank you so much, Rico. You are an amazing fighter. Thank you so much to your team. My team, I love you. My wife, I love you. You are my light and my heart.
“This fight was hard. It was a good fight.”
Until the controversial stoppage, Verhoeven had proved to be more than a tricky competitor and gave Usyk a huge scare.
His jerky style, bulldozing aggression and powerful right hand had troubled a sluggish-looking Usyk for most of the fight.
The fight had attracted a host of boxing greats to ringside including Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin and former heavyweight champions Joshua and Andy Ruiz.
But as an exhausted Verhoeven started to labour in the 11th round, Usyk unleashed a stunning uppercut to drop the Dutchman.
There were only seconds left of the round to survive after Verhoeven climbed off the canvas.
But Usyk went straight in for the finish, unleashing a flurry of punches before the referee called off the bout with Verhoeven stumbling, but still on his feet.
With so little time left in the round, it seemed a hugely controversial call from the referee.
Despite Verhoeven soaking up heavy punishment, he was likely still leading the fight.
He had started well, landing a couple of vicious right hands in the opening round.
Usyk struggled to find his range, and although he had a good fourth round, rocking Verhoeven with an uppercut, he seemed to be losing most of the early rounds.
As the rounds ticked down, everyone waited for Usyk to assert his superiority, but that did not come until the end of the 11th.
A plush right hand sent Verhoeven down and through the ropes. Once he was up, Usyk unleashed a barrage but the Dutchman looked like he would be saved by the bell, until the referee intervened.
Germany’s WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel entered the ring after the fight to call out Usyk.
“I have waited so long for this fight. I am ready and I think Germany is ready for the fight. Let’s do it in a German stadium. I think all the fans want it,” Kabayel said.
Usyk replied: “Let’s do it, no problem. I am ready, brother.”
Earlier on the main card, Mizuki Hiruta defeated Australian Mai Soliman to retain her retain the Ring Magazine and WBO super-flyweight titles via unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92×2), her seventh-consecutive title defence.
It was the first time Soliman had fought outside of Australian.