Verhoeven likens kickboxing reign to Usyk run in WBC title defence

Rico Verhoeven has compared his kickboxing dominance to Oleksandr Usyk's boxing achievements, arguing the WBC recognises both sports when handing him heavyweight credentials. The Dutchman used the parallel to justify his title shot at 123 kg.

“Like what Oleksandr did within boxing, I did within kickboxing for 12 years. Defeat everybody and some people multiple times. The WBC is also the only organisation that looks at kickboxing and Muay Thai. So for them, they recognised and gave me my credentials.”

— Rico Verhoeven, via BBC Sport

What Rico Verhoeven said

Verhoeven moves into boxing after years as a heavyweight kickboxing champion. The WBC awards belts across combat sports, including kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions, and has granted Verhoeven a title opportunity in the boxing heavyweight class. His argument rests on the sanctioning body's cross-discipline recognition policy.

What it moves

The comparison sets up questions about how kickboxing credentials translate to boxing rankings. Verhoeven speaking to BBC Sport framed his dozen-year run as equivalent to Usyk's undisputed sweep, banking on the WBC's willingness to honour martial-arts pedigree. His next step will test whether the boxing public accepts that logic.

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