DAZN<\/a>\u00a0Ultimate is DAZN\u2019s premium subscription tier, which includes a minimum of 12 pay\u2011per\u2011view boxing events per year as part of the subscription. That includes major heavyweight bouts such as Usyk vs. Verhoeven, plus over 185 fight nights annually.<\/p>\nOleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven start timeDate:\u00a0Saturday, May 23Start time: 6 p.m. BSTMain event start time (approx.):\u00a011 p.m. BSTLocation:\u00a0Pyramids of Giza – Egypt<\/p>\n
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven is on Saturday, May 23 in Egypt. The main card starts at 6 p.m. BST and the main event should begin around 11 p.m. BST, depending on how long the undercard fights last.<\/p>\n
Usyk (24-0) quickly rose up the ladder at heavyweight after holding all the gold at cruiserweight. The Ukrainian beat the likes of Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Daniel Dubois, the latter three twice. He\u2019s a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old has nothing left to prove in the sport. He’s ready to take on a unique challenge, one that, with a win, could enhance his legacy.<\/p>\n
“I truly respect people who reach the very top in their sport. Rico is one of them \u2014 a powerful athlete and a great champion. Being 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,” Usyk said.<\/p>\n
“But 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!”<\/p>\n
Verhoeven is a former Glory heavyweight champion, holding the record for most successful title defenses (13). After not renewing his contract, the Dutch superstar is ready to make a name for himself in boxing.<\/p>\n
“I spent twelve years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish,” Verhoeven said. “But staying at the top for that long didn\u2019t take away the hunger, it strengthened it.<\/p>\n
“I 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.”<\/p>\n
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven fight cardOleksandr Usyk (c) vs. Rico Verhoeven for the WBC heavyweight titleHamzah Sheeraz vs. Alem Begic for the WBO super middleweight titleJack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA (Regular) welterweight titleMizuki Hiruta (c) vs. Mai Soliman for the WBO super flyweight titleFrank Sanchez vs. Richard Torrez Jr.; HeavyweightsBasem Mamdouh vs. Jamar Talley; Cruiserweights\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk looks to continue his hold over the heavyweight division. The Ukrainian defends his status as champion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":689563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-689562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689562","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=689562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}