GIZA, Egypt, May 22 (Reuters) – World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk tipped the scales at a career-heaviest 233.3 pounds ahead of Saturday’s fight in Egypt with Dutch former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza.
The unbeaten Ukrainian will still step into the ring considerably lighter than his opponent, who came in at 258.7 pounds in the morning weigh-in before both attend a ceremonial event later in the evening.
Usyk weighed 227 pounds when he fought Britain’s Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium last July, and was 226 pounds against Tyson Fury in December 2024.
Dubois is now the WBO champion while Usyk holds the WBC, WBA and IBF belts.
Verhoeven can only take the WBC belt on Saturday, with the other sanctioning bodies set to declare their titles vacant should Usyk lose.
A defeat for the champion would be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, with the fight considered a total mismatch by many.
Verhoeven, 37, has fought only one professional boxing bout, and that was 12 years ago before he embarked on an 11-year unbeaten run in kickboxing. Usyk, an Olympic champion, is undefeated in 24.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in LondonEditing by Toby Davis)