Oleksandr Usyk retained his WBC heavyweight title in dramatic fashion on Saturday, stopping Rico Verhoeven by technical knockout with just one second remaining in Round 11 at the Glory in Giza event.
Usyk and Verhoeven battled through 10 hard-fought rounds, with Verhoeven frequently pressuring the champion and landing significant offense throughout the bout. The finish came late in the 11th, preventing the fight from going to the judges.
Official scorecards released after the fight revealed how close it was heading into the championship rounds. After 10 scored rounds, two judges had the bout even at 95-95, while a third judge had Verhoeven ahead 96-94.
According to the disclosed scoring, Round 11 would have been scored 10-8 for Usyk due to a late knockdown if the fight had gone the distance. Matchroom Boxing provided the official scorecards, which underscored how narrowly Usyk was leading — and how crucial the late stoppage proved to be against the all-time kickboxing great Verhoeven.
