Rico Verhoeven sums up Oleksandr Usyk’s boxing capability as he targets rematch | Boxing Information

Final month, Rico Verhoeven got here agonisingly near stunning the world and changing into essentially the most inexperienced world champion in Boxing historical past. Upon reflection, Verhoeven has assessed the abilities of heavyweight ruler, Oleksandr Usyk, whom he nearly dethroned.

Verhoeven boasted simply the solitary skilled bout forward of final month’s problem for Usyk’s WBC crown, with that bout coming all the way in which again in 2014, previous to Verhoeven changing into a legend within the sport of kickboxing.

Consequently, if in a position to pull off an unbelievable upset, Verhoeven would have trumped the efforts of Saensak Muangsurin and Vasyl Lomachenko, who every claimed world honours of their third skilled bouts, to grow to be the primary male boxer to choose up a world title inside two contests.

Within the combat, Verhoeven got here extraordinarily shut, along with his efforts believed by many followers to have warranted a transparent lead on the scorecards, till he was controversially halted in spherical 11. 

Recalling that night time in an interview with Ring Magazine, Verhoeven recognised that Usyk is ‘an incredible fighter’, however declared that he ‘didn’t present him something that he had not seen earlier than’.

“My coach [Peter Fury] informed me earlier than, ‘he’s not going to point out you one thing that you just haven’t seen earlier than’ – and he was right, as a result of he’s an incredible fighter, he’s a brilliant achieved fighter, however he didn’t present me one thing that I didn’t see earlier than.

“I knew that he was going to be good, agile and quick.”

Persevering with, Verhoeven remained hopeful of securing a second shot at Usyk’s belts, with Turki Al-Alshikh having confirmed his curiosity in staging a second showdown.

“His Excellency informed me that he desires to see the rematch as a result of he was like, ‘you have been forward, you have been profitable after which this occurs and the referee jumps in, it doesn’t make any sense!’. So, let’s see what occurs.”

Regardless of Verhoeven’s aspirations to problem as soon as extra, Usyk could instead take on undefeated German, Agit Kabayel, in his next outing.