Oleksandr Usyk narrowly retained his heavyweight world title in a contentious late stoppage victory over Rico Verhoeven. The bout took place in front of the pyramids, with Verhoeven, a kickboxing legend, participating in just his second professional boxing match. Despite Verhoeven’s strong performance and likely lead on the scorecards, Usyk managed to drop him with an uppercut towards the end of the fight. The referee controversially stopped the match with only a second left on the clock, with replays showing that the decision came after the bell had rung.
Both fighters acknowledged the intensity of the battle, with Usyk praising Verhoeven’s skills and Verhoeven expressing disappointment in the stoppage timing. The match saw Verhoeven land significant shots early on, but Usyk gradually found his rhythm, especially with his uppercuts. The fight remained competitive throughout, with both fighters showcasing their strengths and resilience.
In a separate match on the undercard, Hamzah Sheeraz claimed the WBO super-middleweight world title with a dominant second-round victory over Alem Begic. Jack Catterall also secured a portion of the WBA welterweight world title by outpointing Shakhram Giyasov, setting up a potential future showdown with ‘super’ champion Rolly Romero. Additionally, rising American heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr suffered a second-round knockout defeat to Frank Sanchez, who earned a shot at a world title with his impressive performance.