WBC heavyweight title on the line as kickboxing champion enters boxing ring after 12 years
Oleksandr Usyk will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Rico Verhoeven on May 23, 2026, in Egypt, Turki Alalshikh and Ring Magazine confirmed. The fight will stream globally on DAZN.
This is a sanctioned WBC heavyweight title defense. The belt is officially on the line.
Usyk unified the heavyweight division with two victories over Tyson Fury in 2024 and then stopped Daniel Dubois in five rounds. At 39, he remains unbeaten and technically sharp.
Verhoeven, 36, built his reputation in Glory kickboxing, where he recorded 14 title bout wins and 13 consecutive title defenses. He has one professional boxing bout, a knockout win in 2014. Since then, he has fought under kickboxing rules and competed once in MMA. He now enters a twelve-round championship boxing match against an unbeaten unified heavyweight champion.
Usyk said: “I truly respect people who reach the very top in their sport. Rico is one of them, a powerful athlete and a great champion.
Being a champion isn’t just about belts. It’s about years of hard work, discipline, and belief. I respect his journey , he’s truly the King of Kickboxing. But this is boxing, a different game, with its own rules.
Verhoeven said: “I spent twelve years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish. But staying at the top for that long didn’t take away the hunger, it strengthened it. Usyk is undisputed in boxing. That’s the kind of challenge that motivates me. Undisputed versus undisputed.”
Under boxing scoring, clean punching, defense, and effective aggression decide rounds. The jab sets the terms. Usyk’s footwork and straight left have outworked larger heavyweights. Verhoeven will bring size and physical strength, but he has not boxed twelve championship rounds against a southpaw who builds pressure behind a disciplined jab.