Controversial ref decision prompts Usyk escape, calls for rematch

The Ukrainian heavyweight champion defeated former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in the 11th round Saturday thanks to a dubious stoppage with one second left before the bell rang, despite the Dutchman being ahead on the scorecard and willing to fight on.

Before the bout in the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, Verhoeven warned that he would shock the world in Oleksandr Usyk’s voluntary defence of the World Boxing Council undisputed title, and the kickboxing world champ came very close to doing so. Usyk set off alarm bells since the get-go, as he struggled to control the fight against an inexperienced opponent with only one previous boxing bout, and it was only a vicious punch and a highly controversial decision that allowed him to retain the belt.

After 10 rounds, two judges had scored the fight 95-95, while the third had it 96-94 to the challenger. Then, in round 11, a left uppercut from Usyk sent Verhoeven to the canvas. The Dutchman rose to his feet in time to recover and catch his breath while the referee replaced his mouth guard. Once he allowed both fighters to continue, The Ukrainian immediately rushed at his rival, knowing he was in trouble and punished him further. However, with only one second remaining before the bell, the referee stopped the contest and awarded the champ victory by technical knockout.

Verhoeven spoke immediately after leaving the ring. “It was a premature stoppage, exaggerated. The referee knew the round was about to end, he should have let it continue,” he complained.

Usyk made a poor impression, appearing passive and overly cautious. From the opening round, Verhoeven applied pressure by throwing a high volume of punches and moving dynamically around the ring, which made it extremely difficult for the Ukrainian champion to launch attacks, as he appeared to be studying his rival and waiting for him to tire, a very different strategy to the one that had led him to become the unified heavyweight champion, a feat not achieved for 25 years since Britain’s Lennox Lewis accomplished it.

Many had expected a dull fight due to Usyk’s quality and Verhoeven’s lack of boxing experience. Instead, the heavily muscled Dutchman charged at the Ukrainian relentlessly, hurting him with sustained combinations. Usyk seemed short of ideas and failed to sustain attacks to the head and body. He watched as the underdog steadily built an advantage on the scorecards and tilted the fight in his favour.-insidethegames