Eddie Hearn gave a stark assessment of Rico Verhoeven’s chances ahead of the kickboxing star’s boxing showdown with Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt on Saturday.
Verhoeven is scheduled to face the undefeated Usyk in a boxing match in front of the Pyramids of Giza, with Caesars Sportsbook listing Usyk as high as a -5000 favorite. Verhoeven enters with a 1-0 professional boxing record against Usyk’s 24-0.
"The fight on paper is an impossible mountain to climb for Rico Verhoeven," Hearn said during a Thursday press conference.
Hearn, who observed Usyk while Anthony Joshua trained with him in camp, expanded on the challenge in front of Verhoeven. "No, I'll re-phrase that: for the normal man. But the reason that he's accomplished what he's accomplished and the reason he's done what he's done is because he's not a normal man. Oleksandr Usyk is one of the greatest not just fighters of our generation, but greatest examples to any young fighter, to any young athlete in terms of the work ethic and the mindset. I thank (Oleksandr) and his team for allowing AJ (Joshua) into that camp because what I've seen up close is the reason that he's undefeated, the reason he's still top of the game."
Looking ahead to fight night at the foot of the Pyramids, Hearn framed the bout in historic terms. "Tomorrow night, this guy (Verhoeven), this giant of a man whose arms are like the normal man's thighs, has an opportunity to, let's be honest, forge one of the greatest upsets in the history of boxing."
Verhoeven, a former GLORY Kickboxing champion described as one of the most decorated kickboxers of all time, scored a second-round knockout over Janos Finfera in his lone pro boxing bout in 2014.
