The official scorecards from Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Rico Verhoeven have added further controversy to the fight at the pyramids of Giza.
In Egypt on Saturday, kickboxing icon Verhoeven appeared to be on the verge of a historic upset, as he challenged boxing’s WBC heavyweight champion Usyk.
Going into the penultimate round, the 11th, Verhoeven seemed to be comfortably ahead on points, but Usyk dropped the Dutchman late in the frame.
The first controversy was that Verhoeven was given extra time to recover as his mouthguard was put back in, but when the action resumed, a greater controversy saw referee Mark Lyson step in to save Verhoeven from Usyk’s onslaught – as the bell sounded, not before.
Many fans and pundits argued that Verhoeven should have been allowed to enter the 12th and final round, to get his shot at an all-time great upset. However, the official scorecards later revealed that the 37-year-old wasn’t necessarily on course to win anyway.
Judge Manuel Oliver Palomo had the bout 95-95 heading into round 11, as did Fabian Guggenheim, while judge Pasquale Procopio had Verhoeven up 96-94.
Round 11 would have been scored 10-8 to Usyk, had the fight not been stopped, meaning the Ukrainian would have been well positioned to win the bout on points – barring a 12th-round knockout by either man.
“Leave emotions out of it,” Verhoeven wrote on Instagram. “Read the cards. One second left heading into the 12th and final round. Onwards and upwards! Respect to @usykaa, it was an honor to share the ring with you. Let’s run it back!”
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He was later filmed noting that the bell had actually sounded, however, and he wrote in an Instagram story: “Official protest has been filed on our way to the airport. Rules only matter if they are applied when it matters most.”
Usyk’s controversial win saw the 39-year-old retain the WBC title and remain unbeaten as a professional. The Ukrainian is the unified heavyweight champion, a former two-time undisputed heavyweight king, and a former one-time undisputed cruiserweight champion.
Meanwhile, Verhoeven was boxing professionally for just the second time; his previous outing in the sport was a KO win in 2014. But the Dutchman is considered one of kickboxing’s greatest fighters, as he held the Glory heavyweight title for 11 years and won his last 22 fights before vacating the belt.
After Saturday’s fight, WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel was brought into the ring to face off with Usyk, but Saudi matchmaker Turki Alalshikh said it was not the time to push for that bout; instead, he suggested that Verhoeven deserved a rematch.
