Oleksandr Usyk Vs. Rico Verhoeven Breakdown

Oleksandr Usyk will face kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on Saturday in a defense of his IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight titles, as we preview the upcoming fight.

After becoming undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time by beating Daniel Dubois in July 2025, he vacated the WBO belt. A planned clash with Deontay Wilder also fell through after Wilder grew impatient with negotiations and agreed to fight Derek Chisora on April 4 instead.

Verhoeven's credentials, while limited in boxing, are substantial in combat sports broadly. The Dutch heavyweight held the GLORY kickboxing heavyweight title for eleven years, making thirteen successful defences of the belt before vacating it last November. He reportedly turned down a UFC contract to pursue boxing. The fight takes place over the traditional twelve-round championship format. Usyk is expected to be a substantial favourite.

The Approach

Usyk will approach this the way he approaches every fight — with movement, angles and a volume-based boxing. His footwork will be the first and most consistent tool: circling away from Verhoeven's power, making him turn, resetting the geometry of the fight constantly so that Verhoeven can never settle into a comfortable rhythm or load up cleanly.

Usyk will use the jab not just to score but to measure distance and control the pace, and he'll look to work in combination behind it — the left hook and right hand have always been his primary scoring shots at heavyweight.

Verhoeven's strengths in kickboxing — long range, powerful straight punches, physical size and the ability to generate knockout power from distance — do translate to boxing in principle, even if the context is different. He'll look to use his reach and physical frame to keep Usyk at the end of his punches, landing the right hand in particular, which has always been his most dangerous weapon.

The Card

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven

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