Thanks to the performance he delivered against world champion Oleksandr Usyk, former Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven has been included in the WBC and WBA heavyweight rankings despite suffering defeat. The WBA placed Verhoeven at No. 15 in its rankings, which, according to the organization’s rules, makes him eligible for a voluntary world title shot. The WBC ranked him even higher, placing him at No. 8.
Before his fight with Usyk, Verhoeven had fought only once in professional boxing, back in 2014. On that occasion, Rico scored a second-round knockout over modest Hungarian Janos Finfera, who at the time had a record of five losses in five fights, all of them coming inside the distance. Finfera retired from competition immediately afterward.
At the Pyramids of Giza, Verhoeven exceeded even the most optimistic expectations, managing to reach the eleventh round of his WBC World Title fight with the scorecards still up for grabs and with many respected observers actually seeing him ahead. The Dutchman was heavily knocked down shortly before the end of the round and was then stopped by the referee almost simultaneously with the bell, a decision that sparked some controversy.
Now the kickboxing legend has developed a taste for boxing and wants to continue surprising people by challenging other top-level fighters. Here is what he said on the latest episode of DAZN’s “Inside The Ring”:
“I’m ready for whoever. I’m here to stay. I think we showcased that we might be the best. I feel like I’m the uncrowned king … I used a few tools against Usyk, but I have way more tools to use. In the next fight, I’m going to show you something different.”