Ukrainian heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk preserved his undefeated boxing record after a controversial referee stoppage in their World Boxing Council (WBC) title fight against Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Giza, Egypt on May 24, 2026 (Philippine time).
Fight Details
Usyk knocked down Verhoeven in the 11th round, but although the latter got up before the 10-count, the referee still stopped the bout at 2:59 of the round.
"This fight was hard. It's a good fight. I was just boxing. My right uppercut, bomb, thank you God," said Usyk, who improved his record to 25-0 with 16 knockouts.
Verhoeven's Reaction
Verhoeven expressed confusion over why the fight was stopped with just one second remaining in the 11th round.
"I thought it was an early stoppage, but in the end it's not up to me," said the 37-year-old Verhoeven. "The referee knows that we are almost at the end of the round, so either let me go out on my shield or let the bell go."
Scorecards
According to the scorecard released by The Ring magazine after the fight, two of the three judges had the score tied at 95-95, while the third judge had Verhoeven ahead, 96-94.
