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While Usyk\u2019s resume needs little introduction, the reaction across social media was quick and, in some corners, a bit confused. <\/p>\n
Kickboxing fans recognised Verhoeven immediately. <\/p>\n
Boxing fans? Not so much.<\/p>\n
So who exactly is the massive Dutch unit stepping in to challenge the greatest heavyweight of the era?<\/p>\n
Verhoeven has long reigned as the face of heavyweight kickboxing, dominating the division in Glory for more than a decade with an astonishing 13 successful title defenses from 2013 to 2025.<\/p>\n
Standing 6-foot-5 and walking around well north of 120 kegs, he brings huge physical presence. But in kickboxing circles he\u2019s known more for his skill and ring IQ than his strength.<\/p>\n
Verhoeven has headlined huge kickboxing events across Europe, demolished elite contenders and never shied away from a credible opponent.<\/p>\n
Still, crossing codes to face a bloke like Usyk is a big ask. <\/p>\n
Especially with a world title on the line. The WBC\u2019s prized Green Belt no less.<\/p>\n
Heavyweight kickboxing star Rico VerhoevenSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
One man who knows exactly what Verhoeven brings to the table is Australian Ben Edwards who shared the ring with the Dutch legend in 2012.<\/p>\n
Edwards, a three-time world kickboxing champion who later captured Australian heavyweight honours in boxing, recalled the experience to Fox Sports Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cRico\u2019s a great fella,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe fought in the same show in the Netherlands about two months before we fought and we had breakfast together along with his late father and I can\u2019t speak highly enough of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cRico wasn\u2019t a naturally talented fighter he just worked his a** off for years and years. He has a really technical coach and it showed when we fought. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had the perfect game plan against me, cover his head and chop my legs. One factor I didn\u2019t take into account is the size of his legs, they are huge and even checking his kicks absolutely destroyed my shin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwards went the distance with Verhoeven, but ended up losing on points.<\/p>\n
But toppling Usyk in boxing is an entirely different thing.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian southpaw is one of the most decorated fighters of his generation \u2013 an Olympic gold medallist and former world champion in the amateurs who has carried that dominance seamlessly into the professional ranks. <\/p>\n
And he\u2019s still never lost a pro fight.<\/p>\n
At cruiserweight, Usyk tore through the division, winning the World Boxing Super Series and unifying all four major belts to become the undisputed world champion at 200 pounds.<\/p>\n
He then went up to heavyweight \u2013 and did it again.<\/p>\n
Usyk has beaten Anthony Joshua twice, Tyson Fury twice and Daniel Dubois twice, collecting every major title in boxing\u2019s glamour division and becoming a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion in the process.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, Edwards doesn\u2019t give the Dutch giant much of a chance of beating Usyk.<\/p>\n
Australian combat sports great Ben EdwardsSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
\u201cRico is great at game planning but he is not a big puncher or a great boxer \u2013 just an extremely effective kickboxer using all of his weapons together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure he will have his moments as he doesn\u2019t have a boxer\u2019s rhythm and will be a little awkward at times for Usyk but it should be a clear victory for Usyk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Usyk will establish his jab and use the ring effectively to counter while Rico tries to come in and close the distance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another Aussie combat sports legend, 10-time world champion John Wayne Parr, echoed similar sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cRico has been undefeated the last ten years, beating the best in the heavy weight division \u2013 he\u2019s definitely the face of heavyweight kickboxing,\u201d Parr told Fox Sports Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be difficult for anyone to beat Usyk right now. But hopefully Rico\u2019s awkward rhythm might be able to catch him off guard. <\/p>\n
Parr, who won an Australian boxing title during his decorated Muay Thai career, said there is an advantage that kickboxers have when fighting boxers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have less fear,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting kicked and kneed really hurts. So only having to worry about being punched with a glove makes fighting less scary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fury credits Joshua for Boxing return | 00:59<\/p>\n
Boxing\u2019s a funny game, though \u2013 just ask Tyson Fury. MMA superstar Francis Ngannou landed one clean shot and suddenly the big man looked human. Anything can happen on fight night.<\/p>\n
Verhoeven will need every advantage he can find \u2013 because plenty have stepped up to Usyk, but none have solved him yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The heavyweight boxing landscape was rocked over the weekend when it was announced that champion Oleksandr Usyk will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-508958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}