{"id":508735,"date":"2026-02-28T01:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T01:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/508735\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T01:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T01:56:08","slug":"oleksandr-usyk-vs-rico-verhoeven-in-egypt-date-latest-news-heavyweight-titles-reaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/508735\/","title":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven in Egypt, date, latest news, heavyweight titles, reaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The king of boxing\u2019s heavyweight division returns to the ring on May 23 (May 24 AEDT) as Oleksandr Usyk will defend his WBC world title against former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven in Egypt, live worldwide on DAZN.<\/p>\n

Usyk and Verhoeven\u2019s upcoming bout, dubbed \u201cGlory in Giza,\u201d was announced on Friday by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and Ring Magazine and will take place live at the famous pyramids in the Egyptian city.<\/p>\n

The unique setting matches the unparalled nature of the fight, pitting boxing\u2019s current heavyweight ruler against one of the most prolific kickboxers of all time, with Verhoeven having held the Glory heavyweight title longer than anyone else in the promotion\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Verhoeven returns to boxing after a 12-year absence, and he meets the undefeated Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) with gold on the line.<\/p>\n

UFC 326 Holloway vs Oliveira 2 | SUN 8 MARCH 1PM AEDT | After 11 years removed from their first encounter, Max Holloway will face the former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira for the BMF Championship, in Las Vegas. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI truly respect people who reach the very top in their sport. Rico is one of them \u2014 a powerful athlete and a great champion,\u201d Usyk said in a statement. \u201cBeing a champion isn\u2019t just about belts. It\u2019s about years of hard work, discipline, and belief. I respect his journey \u2014 he\u2019s truly the King of Kickboxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is boxing \u2014 a different game, with its own rules and its own kings. I\u2019m ready and really looking forward to meeting him in the ring. It\u2019s going to be a unique experience for both of us, and I know the fans are excited too. A big night is coming!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk takes a swig of water after winning the undisputed world heavyweight boxing title fight against Britain’s Daniel Dubois, in London, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Bradley Collyer\/PA via AP)Source: AP<\/p>\n

Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO) acknowledged the challenge he has put in front of himself, and he is betting on himself against the two-weight undisputed boxing champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent twelve years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish,\u201d Verhoeven said. \u201cBut staying at the top for that long didn\u2019t take away the hunger, it strengthened it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t looking for comfort, so I started looking for the highest challenge available in another world. Usyk is undisputed in boxing. That\u2019s the kind of challenge that motivates me. Undisputed versus undisputed. The best facing the best.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared on DAZN News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The king of boxing\u2019s heavyweight division returns to the ring on May 23 (May 24 AEDT) as Oleksandr…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508736,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[6074,2095,64,63,802,255159,17500,255166,7701,255161,11301,5579,2057,255160,92777,255158,255164,255167,255165,2623,145094,2022,1395,2627,2041,68108,2067,3583,7704,199436,255163,85,38445,960,5525,20681,3586,2614,255162],"class_list":{"0":"post-508735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-boxing","13":"tag-boxing-title-fight","14":"tag-charles-oliveira","15":"tag-crossover-star","16":"tag-daniel-dubois","17":"tag-dazn-news","18":"tag-eastern-europe","19":"tag-egypt","20":"tag-europe","21":"tag-heavyweight-boxing-title","22":"tag-heavyweight-division","23":"tag-heavyweight-king","24":"tag-heavyweight-ruler","25":"tag-heavyweight-titles","26":"tag-kickboxing-champion","27":"tag-las-vegas","28":"tag-lightweight-champ","29":"tag-london","30":"tag-max-holloway","31":"tag-nevada","32":"tag-north-america","33":"tag-northern-africa","34":"tag-northern-america","35":"tag-northern-europe","36":"tag-oleksandr-usyk","37":"tag-rico-verhoeven","38":"tag-shock-opponent","39":"tag-sports","40":"tag-title-defence","41":"tag-turki-alalshikh","42":"tag-ukraine","43":"tag-undisputed-world-heavyweight","44":"tag-united-kingdom","45":"tag-united-states-of-america","46":"tag-world-heavyweight-boxing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}