Many in the boxing and MMA world are not pleased with how this weekend’s heavyweight boxing bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven, at the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, ended.
Despite being the far less experienced boxer stepping into the ring with boxing’s pound-for-pound king, Verhoeven surpassed expectations against “The Cat.”
“King of Kickboxing” looked sharp throughout the fight, landed the cleaner, heavier shots across most of the rounds, and never allowed Usyk to dominate.
However, in the 11th round, the 39-year-old Ukrainian finally shifted the momentum after dropping Rico Verhoeven with a massive shot. Verhoeven managed to beat the count and continue, but Oleksandr Usyk immediately went all out in search of the finish, and this time his hard combo was enough to secure a TKO.
The ending, however, is questionable, and many are still debating whether the referee stopped the bout just before the final bell in Round 11 or waved it off after the second last round was already over. Verhoeven has made it clear he is unhappy with the decision and has already filed an appeal.
After the bout, several boxers, MMA stars, and fans also pointed out that Rico Verhoeven was winning the fight and the ref should not have stopped it in Round 11, as the challenger dominated for the majority of the minutes and deserved to continue fighting. Others believe the referee stopped the bout after the bell.
Jake Paul, Dillon Danis, and many others question the referee’s Decision In Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven
Jake Paul posted on X:
“I truly love boxing, and what happened tonight seriously makes me sad. The sport and the fans deserve better.”
Shakur Stevenson had similar sentiments. He posted:
“I can’t believe what I’m watching.”
Popular MMA page Dovy on X wrote:
“Rewatching this again, this must be some sort of corruption, how the f*ck does an experienced referee actually stop this???”
Ariel Helwani posted:
“That’s an absolute disgraceful stoppage. Rico got jobbed. What the hell.”
Plinio Cruz wrote:
“What a very bad stoppage ! #ricovsusyk”
Derek Brunson also pointed out the premature stoppage:
“Today I witnessed a man get TKO after the bell 👀 #.boxing”
Dillon Danis showed support for Rico Verhoeven:
“That was the most rigged sh*t I’ve ever seen. Never watching boxing again. What a fu*king joke of a sport. Rico Verhoeven just schooled one of the best boxers in the world and still got robbed. F*ck boxing, he won that fight.”
Anthony Joshua also thinks the stoppage was too early.
Check out his reaction below:
Nina-Marie Daniele lauded Oleksandr Usyk:
“USYK is the GOAT! WOW!”
Check out a few more reactions below to the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven bout: