Rico Verhoeven (R) had his share of success against Oleksandr Usyk. Mohamed Hossam/Getty Images
Rico Verhoeven’s coach Peter Fury has urged Oleksandr Usyk to take a rematch following their close-fought heavyweight title battle in Egypt on Saturday, which ended with a controversial stoppage.
Verhoeven, a kickboxing great and heavy pre-fight underdog, produced a remarkable performance against unified heavyweight champion Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) in front of the pyramids of Giza.
While Verhoeven (1-1,1 KO) was potentially on course for a huge upset victory — with the scorecards reading 95-95, 95-95 and 96-94 [Verhoeven] after Round 10 — Usyk scored a knockdown towards the end of Round 11 and had his opponent on shaky legs.
He moved in and let his hands go before referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight, seemingly after the bell rang for the end of the round.
While he conceded Verhoeven may not have had much of a chance of finishing the fight, Fury said he thought the stoppage was hasty and wants to see his fighter get another chance.
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“I think the stoppage was early but at the end of the day he [Verhoeven] was tired, he was fatigued, it was the 11th round. Could have made the 12? Probably not. But the stoppage was premature,” Fury told DAZN.
“I’m about respect. Respect your opponent. I’m not into all the slapping s—. Usyk’s got the win, full congratulations to him.
“But I think they should … I think Oleksandr will run it back because he’ll look at it, you know, let’s run it back. The guy [Verhoeven] deserves another shot because look what’s happened here. A little bit more experience. It’s the first time he’s ever, ever gone past five rounds.”
Immediately after the fight, Verhoeven also said the stoppage came too soon.
“Of course, I thought it was an early stoppage but at the end of the day it’s not up to me,” Verhoeven said.
“But still, I thought it was a little bit early. I believe the referee knows that we’re almost at the end of the round. Let me go out on my shield or let the bell go. That’s what I thought but like I said it’s not up to me. I was already super thankful for the opportunity … That Usyk took this fight.
“I thought we were pretty equal on the scorecards. At least, that’s what I felt like.”
As well as Verhoeven, German heavyweight Agit Kabayel was also in the ring post fight and called Usyk out.
Kabayel is the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBC title and has been forced to bide his time while the Ukrainian fought Verhoeven.
“Congratulations Oleksandr. I wait so long for this situation. I am ready. Germany is ready for the fight,” Kabayel said. “I know many Ukrainian people live in Germany. Let’s do it in Germany in a stadium. I think the fans want the fight. Let’s do it Usyk.”
