Oleksandr Usyk retained his world titles in Riyadh, stopping kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven in the 11th round.
Verhoeven proved to be a much tougher test than many people anticipated for Usyk.
From the opening bell, the Dutchman proved to be a problem, landing two clean shots — one an overhand right to the jaw of the champion and the other a sickening body shot.
To the surprise of many, Verhoeven dominated large parts of the fight, with many viewers only scoring two or three rounds in the Ukrainian’s favour.
Not only was Verhoeven in control, he looked to have hurt Usyk on multiple occasions, who looked dissimilar to the elusive champion we have become so accustomed to over the years.
Verhoeven was dropped in the 11th and beat the count before the referee guided him to his corner to adjust his mouthpiece.
With 10 seconds left of the penultimate round, Usyk launched a brutal attack that had Verhoeven hurt, but he was still fighting. Nonetheless, the referee stepped in at 2:59 of the 11th round and called off the contest.
Many were outraged at the stoppage, with Derek Chisora labelling it a “robbery,” while Ryan Garcia believed the round had already finished before the referee jumped in.
In his in-ring interview after the win, Usyk gave credit to his opponent.
“Thank you so much Rico, you’re an amazing fighter; my team, I love you; you are the best.
“This fight was hard, it was a good fight; I was just boxing, I threw my right uppercut and bam bam bam.”
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Alem Begic
Hamzah Sheeraz became world champion in Egypt by stopping unbeaten Alem Begic with ease and went on to call out the rest of the champions at super middleweight.
From the opening round, Sheeraz looked the sharper man, landing his jab at will against the German. Sheeraz was the bigger, stronger fighter and made that count.
He started to make the German pay in the second round before launching a brutal attack to the body that dropped Begic, who was unable to make the count.
After the win, he said: “I will fight anyone, we know who was meant to be in the ring tonight; if Canelo wins [against Mbilli] it’s up to him if he fights me; he is one of the GOAT’s.”
Shakhram Giyasov vs Jack Catterall
Jack Catterall lifted the WBA regular welterweight crown and did it in style against Shakhram Giyasov.
Catterall stamped his authority on the contest from the first bell, dropping Giyasov with a strong back hand. He hurt the Uzbek multiple times in the first round, who did well to survive.
Giyasov recovered well after the opening round yet won very few rounds, with ‘El Gato’ likely doing enough to convince the judges in each session.
Remaining Undercard
Frank Sanchez picked up a real statement victory over Richard Torrez Jr, who came into the contest a heavy favourite.
The American came into the contest ranked number eight by The Ring Magazine, while Sanchez returned from an extended spell out of the ring of over 400 days.
Torrez started well and looked the quicker, sharper man, backing the Cuban into the corner, but he was caught out in the second round. He left himself exposed in the pocket and Sanchez made no mistake, landing a devastating right hook to finish his man.
Mizuka Hiruta successfully defended her WBO super flyweight title against Egyptian fighter Mai Soliman, with the three judges scoring the contest 98-92, 98-92 and 99-91.
Hiruta wasted no time in calling out undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora.
Usyk’s stablemate Daniel Lapin was stunned at the Pyramids by Benjamin Mendes Tani. The Ukrainian was unbeaten prior to tonight, with his last win being a first-round stoppage in his home country.
Tani piled on the pressure and dropped his man three times before the referee stopped the contest in the fourth round.
Three Egyptian fighters were involved in stoppages early on the card. Basem Madouh was stopped on home soil by unbeaten Jamar Talley in the second round, while Omar Hilkal stopped his opponent in the third round of his professional debut.
Mohamed Mabrouk Yehya won a unanimous decision on his debut, while Saudi Arabia’s Sultan Almohammed moved to 4-0 with a first-round stoppage.
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