Usyk avoids a shocking defeat with an 11th round stoppage of Verhoeven | Boxing news

Undefeated Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr ⁠Usyk stopped veteran Dutch boxer Rico Verhoeven with one second remaining in the final round of their WBC title fight to avoid an unprecedented boxing challenge.

The “Glory at Giza” fight, which took place at the pyramids of Egypt on Saturday, was considered a mismatch, but Verhoeven, whose previous boxing fight was 12 years ago, tore the records in a surprising way from the opening bell.

It took until the fourth for Usyk to have the round where it belonged, but the champion was unable to capitalize on it with the bigger and heavier Verhoeven continuing to battle him.

With Usyk swinging the scales heavier than ever and looking surprisingly lethargic at times, the 39-year-old went into the finals needing to pull something out of the bag to ensure a major win.

Scorecards published by The Ring magazine later showed two of the three judges that the fight was tied 95-95 going into the 11th of 12 and the other had Verhoeven ahead 96-94.

The decisive moment came at the end when Usyk dropped Verhoeven with a right hand and the Dutchman scored 10 but not the referee, who stepped in to cancel another penalty.

The ring announcer called the stoppage at 2 minutes and 59 seconds of the 11th round.

“I thought the suspension at the beginning, but in the end, it’s not for me,” Verhoeven, 37, told DAZN. “A football player knows we’re almost at the end of the race, so let me go out with my shield or let the bell go.

“But you know,…

Shock was avoided

Verhoeven was only fighting for the WBC belt while Usyk was in danger of losing his WBA and IBF belts, which would have been declared vacant had he been beaten.

In the end, the 39-year-old Ukrainian extended his record to 25 fights unbeaten and retained all three titles.

“This fight was tough, it was a good fight, I was just punching, my right uppercut, bang, bang, bang, bang.

“Right now in Ukraine, my people and my country – there are bombs. My people are living in bomb shelters. My family. My daughter sent me a message: ‘Dad, I love you. You’re going to win. I’m scared. I said, ‘Oh my God.'”

Verhoeven’s victory would have been one of the most shocking feats in sports history, surpassing Mike Tyson’s 1990 loss to journeyman James “Buster” Douglas.

Usyk, the 2012 Olympic champion and professional athlete, is expected to close things out by half the distance, according to some experts’ estimates. Some hoped for an early victory.

Verhoeven walked his ring through the arena like a pharaoh, surrounded by others carrying flaming torches and illuminated pyramids behind them.

Usyk adopted a warrior’s look, wearing a golden helmet and Roman centurion’s garb as fireworks lit up the night. But the fight was one of the toughest, and he was up against a tough opponent who hit hard and showed little sign of falling.

“Thank you, Rico. You are an amazing fighter,” said Usyk.