{"id":36945,"date":"2026-02-27T22:31:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:31:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Unified-boxing-champ-Oleksandr-Usyk-to-face-Rico-Verhoeven-at-Pyramids-of-Giza-200283"},"modified":"2026-02-27T22:31:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:31:57","slug":"unified-boxing-champ-oleksandr-usyk-to-face-rico-verhoeven-at-pyramids-of-giza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/unified-boxing-champ-oleksandr-usyk-to-face-rico-verhoeven-at-pyramids-of-giza\/","title":{"rendered":"Unified boxing champ Oleksandr Usyk to face Rico Verhoeven at Pyramids of Giza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Sometimes these things happen in boxing.<\/p>\n

The Ring announced<\/a>
\non Friday that Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will be defending his
\nheavyweight crown on May 23. He will be squaring off with
\nkickboxing all-time great Rico
\nVerhoeven<\/a> (1-0, 1 KO Box; 66-10, 21 KOs KB) at the Pyramids of
\nGiza in Egypt. The event titled \u201cGlory of Giza: Undefeated Icons\u201d
\nwill put up for grabs Usyk\u2019s WBC belt, despite the heavyweight
\nserving as the unified champion across all major sanctioning
\nbodies. The boxing showcase will air on Dazn.<\/p>\n

Unbeaten after 24 walks to the ring as a pro, Usyk appeared just
\nonce in 2025, where he mollywhopped Daniel Dubois in the fifth
\nround to hold onto his titles while securing the IBF\u2019s as well.
\nSeveral of his recent outings the last few years have taken place
\nin Saudi Arabia, where he squared off with names like Anthony
\nJoshua<\/a> and Tyson Fury<\/a>.
\nIn his last six bouts, he has beaten those three aforementioned
\nboxers twice each.<\/p>\n

In a statement provided to
\nESPN<\/a>, Usyk gushed about his upcoming opponent while flexing his
\nown credentials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly respect people who reach the very top of the sport,\u201d Usyk
\nwrote. \u201cRico is one of them\u2014a powerful athlete and a great
\nchampion. Being a champion isn\u2019t just about belts. It\u2019s about years
\nof hard work, discipline and belief. I respect his journey; he\u2019s
\ntruly the \u2018King of Kickboxing.\u2019 But this is boxing\u2014a different
\ngame, with its own rules and its own kings. I\u2019m ready and really
\nlooking forward to meeting him in the ring. It\u2019s going to be a
\nunique experience for both of us, and I know the fans are excited
\ntoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Horse of a Different Color<\/h2>\n

As a pro boxer, Verhoeven has competed just once, knocking out
\nJanos
\nFinfera<\/a> in the second round in 2014. The longtime Glory<\/a>
\nkickboxing champion won and defended his heavyweight throne more
\nthan any other athlete, racking up 13 defenses and multiple
\ntournament titles as well. From 2012 to 2025, the 6-foot-5 striker
\nfrom the Netherlands amassed a tremendous record with the promotion
\nof 28-1, with his lone defeat against legendary skyscraper Semmy
\nSchilt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cKing of Kickboxing\u201d also put out a statement about the match,
\nas he will be crossing back over to the sweet science after a
\nhall-of-fame-worthy career that allowed him to kick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion
\nand accomplished everything I set out to accomplish. But staying at
\nthe top didn\u2019t take away the hunger, it strengthened it. I wasn\u2019t
\nlooking for comfort, so [I] started looking [for] the highest
\nchallenge available in another world. Usyk is undisputed in boxing.
\nThat\u2019s the kind of challenge that motivates me. Undisputed vs.
\nundisputed. The best facing the best,\u201d the 36-year-old penned.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

Legends collide where legends were built
\n\ud83e\udd4a\ud83e\udd82<\/p>\n

On May 23rd, under the shadows of the ancient giants, Oleksandr
\nUsyk takes on Rico Verhoeven at the iconic Pyramids of Giza \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n

Glory in Giza | May 23rd | LIVE on DAZN \ud83d\udcfa pic.twitter.com\/mHnLT625Du<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine)
\nFebruary 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/center> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes these things happen in boxing. The Ring announced on Friday that Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) will be defending his heavyweight crown on May 23. He will be squaring off with kickboxing all-time great Rico Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO Box; 66-10, 21 KOs KB) at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The event titled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-martial-arts-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}