Usyk vs Verhoeven Near the Pyramids of Giza: What the Crossover Fight Means for the Ukrainian Champion
On May 23, Oleksandr Usyk will have one of the most unusual fights of his professional career. The Ukrainian world heavyweight champion under the WBA, WBC and IBF versions will enter the ring against Dutchman Rico Verhoeven a kickboxing legend who has only one professional boxing fight.
Time for Action analyzed why this fight cannot be perceived only as another title defense. Formally, Usyk remains the champion defending the main belts. But in its meaning, this is a fight on the edge of classic boxing, a major sports show and a crossover format, where interest is created not only by the opponent’s ranking, but also by the very idea of a confrontation between two strong fighters from different disciplines. The location of the fight also works for the scale of the event. The ring will be set up outdoors on a specially built temporary arena near the pyramids in Giza. This is not an ordinary boxing venue, but part of the large visual image of the evening. A fight near one of the most famous historical symbols in the world immediately moves the event to another promotional level. It is being sold not only as a sports fight, but as a show that should be remembered for its picture, atmosphere and location.
For Usyk, this is both a convenient and a dangerous format. Convenient because the fight will take place under boxing rules, where the Ukrainian has a huge advantage in experience, technique, pace and work at distance. Dangerous because the opponent is not a typical boxer who can be assessed by familiar rankings and previous fights in the ring. Verhoeven comes from kickboxing, where he was a dominant figure for years, held the Glory title for more than 11 years and built a streak of 22 victories after his last defeat in 2015. In professional boxing, Usyk has a flawless record 24 victories in 24 fights, 15 of them by knockout. His status in the heavyweight division did not form by accident. After moving up from cruiserweight, he defeated the strongest opponents, beat Anthony Joshua twice, defeated Tyson Fury twice, and in July 2025 knocked out Daniel Dubois and became the undisputed world champion for the third time in his career. First he collected all the belts at cruiserweight, and then did it twice at heavyweight. In November last year, Usyk gave up the WBO title, which caused him to lose the status of undisputed world heavyweight champion. But even after that, he remains one of the main names in modern boxing. He currently holds the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, and also remains The Ring champion and one of the highest-rated boxers regardless of weight class.
Rico Verhoeven is a different type of opponent. In kickboxing, he has 76 fights and 66 victories, and his name has long been associated with dominance in Glory’s heavyweight division. He holds important promotional records, including the number of victories in title fights and the total number of victories. But in boxing, this experience does not automatically transfer almost at all. One professional boxing fight in 2014 is too small a base for Usyk’s level. This is exactly where the main sporting intrigue appears. Verhoeven is strong, big, experienced in combat sports and used to working under pressure. But boxing against Usyk is not a pure strength test. It is distance, footwork, angles, tempo changes, body movement, rhythm control, reactions to feints and the ability not to fall apart under combinations. Usyk has been punishing opponents for years precisely for small mistakes, which at this level quickly turn into a problem. The WBC heavyweight belt will be at stake. For Usyk, this is a voluntary title defense. The Ukrainian will also defend the WBA and IBF belts. If Usyk loses, he will lose these titles, but they will not pass to Verhoeven, because the Dutchman is currently not included in the rankings of these organizations. This creates an unusual situation the champion risks real belts, while the challenger gets a chance for a huge image leap without the standard ranking path. A separate element of the evening is the special WBC “King of the Nile” belt, which the winner will receive. Such belts have a rather symbolic and promotional meaning, but in this case they fit well into the idea of a fight near the pyramids. The event is built to look not like a routine defense, but like a separate page in Usyk’s career.
For the Ukrainian, this is also a fight in the final part of his career. Usyk is speaking more and more often about ending his performances and plans to leave professional boxing within the next 18 months. He has already called the fight with Verhoeven one of the last three in his career. That is why every next appearance in the ring is now perceived differently: it is not a stage of a long road, but part of a final series.
After Verhoeven, different options remain before Usyk. Among possible opponents are Agit Kabayel, Moses Itauma, David Benavidez, as well as potential new meetings with well-known names such as Joshua or Fury. But each of these options has its own complications from commercial to sporting. Usyk himself is currently keeping his focus on the nearest fight, and this is logical: in such a format, underestimating the opponent can be the worst mistake. The undercard of the evening also strengthens the scale of the show. In the main bout before the main event, undefeated British prospect Hamzah Sheeraz will meet German Alem Begic, and the vacant WBO title in the super middleweight division will be at stake. This makes the evening not only an event around Usyk, but a full-fledged boxing show with several significant fights. In Ukraine, the official broadcaster of the fight is the Kyivstar TV platform. It will show the entire boxing evening in Giza, as well as additional events before the fight the press conference on May 21 and the weigh-in on May 22. The expected start of the main fight is 23:45 Kyiv time, although the exact time may change depending on how the undercard unfolds.
The Usyk – Verhoeven fight looks like an event in which sporting logic is combined with a major spectacle. By boxing criteria, Usyk should be the clear favorite. By the scenario of the evening – this is a fight where the champion takes on more risk than it may seem at first glance. He is defending belts, reputation, status and control over the final fights of his career. For Verhoeven, this is a chance to go beyond kickboxing and immediately find himself at the center of world boxing. For Usyk another test of professionalism, concentration and the ability not to let the show overshadow the main thing. The Ukrainian needs to do what he has done many times take away space, break the opponent’s rhythm, not let him believe in a random chance and prove that the boxing ring remains his territory.
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