With just one second remaining in the 11th round, Oleksandr Usyk prevented going down in history on the wrong end of one of sport’s all-time great upsets.
Astonishingly, in front of the Pyramids of Giza, he had quite possibly fallen catastrophically behind on the cards against Dutch kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven, outmuscled, outworked and often outpunched before he uncorked a right uppercut that changed the trajectory of the fight.
What followed was controversial.
Verhoeven lost his mouthpiece and was given time for it to be replaced. When Usyk steamed in to finish the job, and as he threw a volley of big shots, referee Mark Lyson stepped in to call the fight off.
Verhoeven’s corner erupted in protest, Usyk – clearly relieved – sunk to the canvas and prayed. He’d averted a calamity that would have seen his name go alongside those of George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali for their losses to Ali, Buster Douglas and Leon Spinks respectively.
“Rico, you’re an amazing fighter. Thank you so much,” said Usyk. “My team, I love you. You are the best… It was a good fight. I just boxed him. My right uppercut. Bam. Bam, bam, bam. Thank you, God.”
Usyk, 25-0 (16 KOs), turned 39 in January, and he looked his age in Giza.
Verhoeven, for his part, took the loss with great grace and that should endear him to fight fans almost as much as his stellar and surprising performance.
“Yeah of course, I thought it was an early stoppage,” said the challenger. “It’s not up to me. I believe the referee knows we’re almost at the end of the round, or let me go out on my shield, or let the bell go. That’s what I thought. But it’s not up to me. I was already thankful for the opportunity… I’m super proud of my performance. Hopefully the boxing world embraces me.”
There were a few excited and almost sarcastic cheers when Verhoeven landed a right hand early on. Usyk was just taking a look, everyone presumed, assessing what was in front of him and trying to find an opening for his left hand.
Verhoeven stepped in behind a big right to the body near the end of the round and the fighters touched gloves before turning and heading back to their corners.
Usyk had been conservative, but that is one of his traits. He does not set up to win every round. He sets up to win every fight.
The Ukrainian star landed a hook and uppercut in the second that Verhoeven bulled through and when he shot in two uppercuts Verhoeven kept throwing punches himself.
The problem appeared to be that while Verhoeven might have been exceeding expectations, he was also burning through energy like a stick of dynamite.
Turned out, however, he could hold the pace.
Verhoeven admitted he fired a low right in the third and the two paused and touched gloves. The Dutchman was attempting to swamp the champion but Usyk caught him with a straight left although Verhoeven was moving left and right, proving to be a hard target while fighting out of a crouch and throwing with real intent when he came forward.
But, alas, his pace dropped in the third and Usyk started to land more.
Usyk scored with short, sharp shots while on the back foot in the fourth. Verhoeven was game and maintained his forward march but Usyk started to go through the gears, caught the big Dutchman and then had Verhoeven backing up. Usyk continued to land with both hands and was more defensively responsible. Verhoeven appeared to have weathered the storm and even slugged Usyk with a straight right near the end of the round.
It was the first session in which the challenger had spent the majority of the time going backwards and he’d had his mouthpiece knocked out with an uppercut for his troubles.
Verhoeven kept moving in a slower fifth. Usyk tried threading through quick punches and while Verhoeven kept his hands high and stood in range, he was no longer throwing with anything like the same volume. Still, he had won Usyk’s respect and was catching him with occasional jabs.
There was also no sign than Verhoeven’s gas tank was going to suddenly run dry. On the contrary, it was the usually fluid Usyk who was in a jam and a left hook from the Dutch underdog smacked him across the face in the seventh.
The champion, for many the best boxer in the world, looked frustrated. He couldn’t put a dent in Verhoeven, nor could he keep him off or pin him down such was the unorthodox nature of the Dutchman’s strategy.
Rico burst through with a cluster of big shots in the eighth and by now talk of an upset was no longer a pipedream because it was on.
Verhoeven was flooding Usyk with his size and fitness. He even spent a moment in Round 9 as a southpaw, bewitching the man who has, in turn, bewitched so many.
“Don’t make mistakes, don’t tire yourself,” said Peter Fury in Verhoeven’s corner.
Usyk just couldn’t slow him. Conversely, there was no sign that Usyk, a career-heaviest and approaching 40 years old, was able to do anything to turn back the clock.
Verhoeven wound up in deep trouble at the end of the 10th with the champion finally scoring with some crisp and clean shots but, going into the 11th Usyk needed something big. And while Usyk rattled his man with some shots, Verhoeven met him in the trenches and battled back.
But, with seconds remaining in the decisive round, Verhoeven was caught by a lashing right uppercut and dropped heavily. He made it back to his feet, but lost his mouthpiece and by the time the action was restarted Verhoeven had little more than 15 seconds to survive. Usyk flew in to finish the job. At that point, referee Mark Lyson jumped in to intervene.
The official’s decision was debatable.
Verhoeven, clearly hurt, fatigued and scrambling, was all at sea but the bell was imminent. He was surely up on the cards but Lyson ruled he could not go on. There was one second remaining in the round and Verhoeven’s corner protested vehemently.
Verhoeven, 1-1 (1 KOs), with that one previous fight happening in 2014 – turned 37 last month, and is now, as was Francis Ngannou after pushing Tyson Fury all the way, in the mix for more big fights as a boxer having had the WBC’s heavyweight title almost within his grasp.
Agit Kabayel, the WBC’s No. 1 challenger, was soon in the ring and calling for Usyk to fight him in a German soccer stadium.
“Let’s do it. No problem,” Usyk replied.
Saudi powerbroker Turki Alalshikh also said that a rematch with Verhoeven was in play. “We want to see Kabayel, we want to see Rico, and the rematch in Holland.”
As you’d expect from Usyk, he said that he would fight both but, be sure, there’s a third name in the mix and that is Father Time. And Father Time doesn’t lose.
