Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defends his title against former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Giza, Egypt. Usyk enters the ring holding the unified IBF, WBA, and WBC titles, but only the WBC belt is at stake.
The WBC sanctioning was announced in March. In the event of a victory, Ukraine’s three-time, two-division undisputed champion Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will continue to reign as the IBF champion and successfully defend his WBA title.
For former GLORY kickboxing champion Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO) of the Netherlands, the IBF and WBA titles won’t be on the line.
According to the IBF statement, if Usyk loses against Verhoeven, the IBF title “will be declared vacant immediately”. In case of his victory, he will be required to face a mandatory challenger within 180 days.
The WBA approved the title defense for Usyk, stating “should Usyk emerge victorious, the bout will officially count as a successful title defense. If the champion were to lose, the WBA Championship Committee would then review his status and determine the next course of action regarding the heavyweight championship.”
However, Verhoeven with a victory would not earn “any WBA title recognition”, although it would “make him eligible to enter the organization’s heavyweight rankings.”
Current Usyk vs Rico fight card
- Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) vs. Rico Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO), Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title
- Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) vs. Alem Begic (29-0-1, 23 KOs), vacant WBO super middleweight title
- Jack Catterall (32-2, 14 KOs) vs. Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs),vacant WBA “Regular” welterweight title
- Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) vs. Richard Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs), Torrez’s WBC Americas and WBO NABO heavyweight titles
- Mizuki Hiruta (10-0, 2 KOs) vs. Mai Soliman (10-1, 6 KOs), Hiruta’s WBO super flyweight title