Tom
Aspinall believes the winner of the bout between Rico
Verhoeven and Oleksandr Usyk was decided beforehand.
Aspinall’s longtime training partner, Verhoeven, challenged Usyk
for the WBC heavyweight title on Saturday in front of the Pyramids
in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven shocked the world by taking the lead in
the early rounds and appeared to be on his way to one of the
greatest upset wins in boxing history. However, Usyk dropped
Verhoeven in the final seconds of the 11th round. While Verhoeven
returned to his feet, Usyk chased him with a barrage of unanswered
shots. Referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight with a second left in
the 11th round, declaring it a stoppage win for Usyk.
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Aspinall deems it an unfair stoppage. Aspinall believes the
officiating was biased towards Usyk, as they did not want a
kickboxer, to win the WBC title. The
UFC heavyweight champion believes boxing doesn’t like other
combat sports, and the world of pugilism is closed to outsiders.
According to Aspinall, the winner of the fight was decided before
the opening bell.
Unfriendly to Other Combat Sports?
“They don’t even let him make it to the end of the round,” Aspinall
said on YouTube. “It’s a robbery. What the f—k
was that? F—ing boxing don’t want anyone else to win. They
want the boxers with the amateur style coming in, winning the
Olympic medal, and then switching over and beating unbeaten pros.
That’s what they want. They don’t like other combat sports… Why did
you give him a chance?… What is the point in doing all that Egypt
stuff, all these massive events, if you’re going to choose the
winner before they even step in there?”
While Aspinall had openly been considering a transition to boxing
after his retirement from MMA, Verhoeven’s loss might make him
reconsider things. Meanwhile, former UFC heavyweight champion
Francis
Ngannou, who suffered a controversial split decision loss
against Tyson Fury
in 2023, also showed his support for Verhoeven. Like Aspinall,
Ngannou also believes that boxing doesn’t like outsiders.