Saudi official Turki Alalshikh, the main financier behind the recent boxing event “Glory in Giza,” shared with American journalist Mike Coppinger his thoughts on the dynamics of the main event between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven, as well as his wishes for the future.
His plan would be to organize a title defense for Usyk against the WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel and then, should the Ukrainian emerge victorious, a rematch between him and Verhoeven.
Here is what Alalshikh said in detail:
“It was a bad stoppage,” Alalshikh told The Ring’s Mike Coppinger. “Rico deserved to continue to fight. It’s clear that Usyk was controlling in the end, but the referee should have allowed the fight to reach a clear result. It is the call of Usyk now what he does next. Kabayel has waited a long time. We want to do the fight in a stadium in Germany. And after that, we want to see the rematch with Rico.
“And I want to do two more fights with Rico. I had Rico up three rounds entering the 11th round.”
Verhoeven remained deeply disappointed by the circumstances surrounding the end of the fight and, after reviewing the footage and realizing that the referee’s stoppage came after the end-of-round bell, he announced that he would file an appeal.
However, it appears unlikely that the appeal will be upheld, because the rules do not prevent the referee from stopping a fight even during the rest period if a boxer’s condition appears unfit to continue.
Therefore, referee Mark Lyson did not violate any rule, although his decision to step between the fighters immediately after the bell was certainly unusual. In such situations, the boxer in trouble is normally escorted back to his corner so that he can be assessed during the break before a final decision is made.
Now the ball is in Oleksandr Usyk’s court, as he must decide whether to honor his WBC mandatory defense against the dangerous German-Kurdish destroyer Kabayel, who has been calling for the fight for a long time. Enthusiasm for boxing in Germany is growing, and a matchup like this would likely attract a huge crowd to the venue.