Oleksandr Usyk retained his WBC heavyweight title with an 11th-round TKO win over Rico Verhoeven in a crossover bout held at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
The fight headlined a Glory Kickboxing event and was streamed on pay-per-view on DAZN. Usyk closed the show at the 2:59 mark of Round 11, dropping Verhoeven and then following up with a combination that prompted the referee to step in with just one second left in the round.
Verhoeven immediately protested the stoppage, and many online criticized the referee’s decision, adding controversy to the finish of the high-profile matchup.
Usyk entered the bout as approximately a -2000 betting favorite and improved his professional boxing record to 25-0. He has been the unified heavyweight champion since 2025, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBO, and heavyweight titles. Verhoeven, a former Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion, is now 1-1 as a professional boxer and had been undefeated in kickboxing since 2015 with a 22-fight winning streak.
