Oleksandr Usyk will swap packed stadiums for one of the most extraordinary settings sport has ever seen when he takes on former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven on May 23.
The two men are set to clash in front of the Pyramids of Giza with the WBC heavyweight world title on the line after Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed the green and gold belt will be at stake.
The WBC president has granted Usyk special permission to make a voluntary defence of his title before fulfilling his mandatory obligation, a bout against interim champion Agit Kabayel.
For Usyk, May’s event will represent a slightly unconventional chapter in a career defined by taking on the biggest challenges in the most hostile environments.
Verhoeven, meanwhile, will dip his toe into boxing’s ultimate proving ground and his first outing in a professional boxing ring for a decade after years of kickboxing dominance.
For organisers, it will be more than just a fight. It will be a global event, designed to merge elite combat sport with one of the most iconic backdrops on Earth.
Oleksandr Usyk will swap packed stadiums for one of the most extraordinary settings sport has ever seen when he takes on former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven on May 23
The two men are set to clash in front of the Pyramids of Giza (Verhoeven pictured above)
When Tiesto took to the decks on the Pyramids of Giza last December, the ancient plateau was transformed into something resembling a sci-fi movie set.
Lasers sliced through the sky, vast LED screens rose from the sand, and the pyramids themselves were illuminated like the backdrop to a Hollywood movie.
Yet for all the spectacle, what mattered most was what you couldn’t see.
Behind the scenes, the entire operation ran like a military exercise. The stage was completely temporary – no digging, no drilling, no permanent fixings.
Every truss, lighting tower and screen was carefully weighted and balanced to ensure the desert surface (and the buried archaeology beneath it) remained untouched.
It’s believed a fight involving Usyk would follow exactly the same blueprint: a raised, freestanding ring platform constructed entirely above ground and dismantled within hours of the final bell.
One obvious concern is noise. Heavyweight boxing is not exactly subtle.
But during Tiesto’s show, engineers developed a ‘heritage-safe’ sound system that directed bass frequencies away from the pyramids.
When Tiesto took to the decks on the Pyramids of Giza last December, the ancient plateau was transformed into something resembling a sci-fi movie set
The WBC president has granted Usyk special permission to make a voluntary defence before fulfilling his mandatory obligation, a bout that must come against Agit Kabayel
For Usyk, May’s event will represent a slightly unconventional chapter in a career defined by taking on the biggest challenges in the most hostile environments
Real-time vibration sensors monitored the limestone structures throughout the night to ensure sound levels stayed within strict archaeological limits.
A boxing fight would produce nothing like the sustained low-frequency rumble of a three-hour electronic set. Even so, vibration monitoring would almost certainly be in place again as an added safeguard.
The logistics would be just as tightly controlled. For Tiesto’s event, guests entered via the Grand Egyptian Museum before being transported by dedicated shuttle to the secured concert zone on the plateau. A fight night would be expected to follow a similarly high-end access plan.
The concert footprint included a vast main arena space, VIP table sections, hospitality and brand activation zones, plus food and beverage areas spread across the sand.
For boxing, that layout could easily translate into a ringside enclosure carved into the desert, elevated hospitality decks and dramatic broadcast lighting tailored for a global pay-per-view audience.
Security, too, was uncompromising. Mandatory bag checks, controlled access points and a strict no re-entry policy were enforced throughout the concert – measures that would likely be even tighter for a world-title bout staged in the shadow of the last surviving wonder of the ancient world.
