Rico Verhoeven disputes stoppage: 'Let me go out on my shield'

Rico Verhoeven believes the referee stopped his heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk too soon. The Dutchman said he wanted to see the final bell rather than be pulled out near the end of the round.

“I thought it was an early stoppage. The referee knows we are almost at the end of the round. Either let me go out on my shield, let the bell go, or let us go out in the 12th. It was so close. I thought we were pretty equal on the scorecards.”

— Rico Verhoeven, via Sky Sports

What Rico Verhoeven said

Verhoeven was halted in the later rounds of a heavyweight contest that he felt was close on the scorecards. The stoppage came as the round was winding down, with one more round remaining. Verhoeven had moved up to the 123 kg division for the bout.

What it moves

Verhoeven made clear he would have preferred to finish the fight on his feet, even if that meant taking further punishment. His assessment that the scorecards were level sets up a potential debate over whether the official acted prematurely. The result keeps Usyk's belt secure while Verhoeven will likely seek another opportunity at the weight.

Source: skysports.com. Full Rico Verhoeven fight history and recent news at boxingnews.com.