The 36-year-old Verhoeven, from the Netherlands, holds all sorts of records in kickboxing – where his record reads 66-10 (21 KOs) – and he can also boast a solitary outing in each of boxing and MMA, winning both fights by KO. That lone contest in boxing came back in 2014, when he knocked out the 0-5 Janos Finfera in two rounds. Despite his all-round fighting prowess, it remains to be seen how the WBC will justify this contest as a world title fight. In December, at the WBC convention, the sanctioning body’s president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed that Usyk, who was in attendance, would be permitted to make a voluntary defense. However, at the time, it was thought that Deontay Wilder would be the challenger.
Oleksandr Usyk will fight kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt
