Oleksandr Usyk faces Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The fight has now been confirmed for the WBC heavyweight title.
The recently announced contest pits Ukraine’s three-time, two-division undisputed champion Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) against Dutch former GLORY kickboxing champion Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO). Usyk makes a voluntary defense of his WBC belt, approved by the sport’s governing body, the World Boxing Council (WBC).
“After careful consideration, the WBC Board of Governors has ruled in favor of sanctioning WBC World Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk’s voluntary title defense against legendary kickboxing Champion Rico Verhoeven,” reads the statement on the WBC website.
“At its 63rd Annual Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, the WBC granted Champion Usyk a voluntary defense. Subsequently, the WBC received a petition to sanction the Usyk v. Herhoeven fight as a voluntary defense.”
Usyk, of Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine, is coming off a knockout victory over Daniel Dubois in their rematch last July. The 39-year-old was expected to face Fabio Wardley and later Deontay Wilder, but both fights didn’t go ahead.
Usyk currently holds the unified IBF, WBA, and WBC heavyweight titles. Last November, he relinquished the WBO title.
Verhoeven, of Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands, makes his second ring appearance as a professional boxer – the first since his debut back in 2014. The outing follows the 36-year-old’s decision victory over Artem Vakhitov in his final kickboxing fight last June – a win that marked his 13th successful GLORY title defense.
The Usyk vs Verhoeven showdown headlines the event titled “Glory in Giza.” Undercard bouts are expected to be confirmed shortly.