Usyk vs Verhoeven Predictions: Ukrainian great meets boxing novice for the belt

Unified heavyweight champion of the world Oleksandr Usyk puts the crown on the line against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven (DAZN PPV and Ultimate). The unconventional main event tops the card at an unconventional venue as the Pyramids of Giza are subjected to the most testosterone they’ve seen since The Rock burst out of one of them in The Mummy Returns.

Read on for my Usyk vs Verhoeven predictions ahead of a fight that could only happen in this era of boxing.

Usyk vs Verhoeven Odds

Unsurprisingly, the man who has had 24 boxing matches is the favourite over the man who has had one. Usyk is a 1/33 favourite for this one while kickboxer Verhoeven is 11/1. The draw is priced at 28/1 and would be a seismic result in itself.

Usyk vs Verhoeven Fight Preview

I already got a lot of my bewilderment and hand-wringing out of the way in this meditation on desecration. But what of Usyk vs Verhoeven as a sporting contest?

For the uninitiated, Verhoeven is one of the most accomplished kickboxers of modern times. The 6’5 Dutchman has amassed a 66-10 record in the discipline. He held the GLORY Kickboxing Heavyweight Championship for 11 years and 13 title defences; both all-time records.

Verhoeven has beaten names that will be familiar to fans of the UFC, such as Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and Gokhan Saki. He has fought in Japan’s legendary K-1 organisation and won the GLORY Heavyweight Grand Prix. Many experts consider him the greatest kickboxer of the modern era. 

Of course, boxing is a different sport with its own set of all-time greats. Usyk’s achievements have seen him enter the debate surrounding the very best pugilism has ever had.

The Ukrainian was the first four-belt undisputed cruiserweight champion in history. Then he became the first heavyweight to unify the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF titles. He has never lost a pro fight, defeating reigning champions like Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev as he has unified the belts across two weights.

At the age of 39, Usyk appears to be embarking on a victory lap. He vacated his WBO belt rather than engage interim kingpin Fabio Wardley in combat. With that title recently being won by a man he has stopped twice in Dubois, one assumes a third undisputed heavyweight unification is not on the cards.

Usyk has also waved away top contender Moses Itauma as too young to be worthwhile engaging with. An eyebrow-raising take considering the maturity and power the 21-year-old has shown in eviscerating contenders like Demsey McKean, Dillian Whyte and Jarrell Miller.

But this fight would be forgivable if it was a non-title bucket list item for the unbelievable and undefeated Usyk. After all, Fury and Joshua both had money-spinning match-ups with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

But the kicker when it comes to Usyk vs Verhoeven is its status as a world heavyweight championship attraction. The three sanctioning bodies whose belts reside in Camp Usyk have all eventually sanctioned this celebrity bout, albeit in contrasting ways.

The WBC were the first out of the gates. The sanctioning body loves making commemorative belts for special events, like the Nigel Farage-codpiece that Fury and Whyte fought for back in 2022 or the ‘King of the Nile’ monstrosity that Oleksandr and Rico will contest. But the gaudy tourist tat title will not be the only one on the line on Saturday.

The actual WBC heavyweight championship of the world will be on the line as Usyk engages a man who has had a single pro boxing fight. The IBF and WBA, perhaps for the first time ever, kept a dignified silence as they allowed their green-and-gold rivals to make a fool of themselves. Until last week, that is…

In a confusing move that makes you wonder why they even bothered, the WBA and IBF separately announced that Usyk’s other titles would be on the line against Verhoeven. But not for Verhoeven.

Yes, Usyk is essentially defending his titles against himself on Saturday night, as if this fight needed more confounding bullsh*t to drag it all the way into the murky depths of the Nile. If Usyk wins, he will be accredited with official title defences by the WBA and IBF. 

But if Verhoeven wins, he doesn’t get those titles. The IBF have revealed their title will “will be declared vacant immediately” if Usyk loses to the man he is supposedly defending it against. The WBA were more vague, promising a “review” of Usyk’s championship status but making it clear that “As for Verhoeven, a victory would not earn him any WBA title recognition”.

Which sounds like a nifty way to bag yourself a sanctioning fee without the uncomfortable truth that your belt might go home with a man who last boxed professionally in 2014. But boxing fans aren’t stupid. If someone beats the lineal heavyweight king in a professional contest scheduled for 12 rounds, he is the new champion of the world. The colour, design and amount of accompanying hardware is immaterial.

But it must be stressed, Verhoeven is the least qualified challenger for the world heavyweight championship in boxing history. Fighters like Leon Spinks, James Buster Douglas, Hasim Rahman and Andy Ruiz Jr shocked the world by beating Ali, Tyson, Lewis and Joshua respectively. But each man had either Olympic medals, wins over ex-champions or victories over ranked contenders to recommend them.