Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven: Glory in Giza Fight Night Coverage

Who wins Usyk vs Verhoeven?

Fight Night Result Oleksandr Usyk stopped Rico Verhoeven in round 11 in controversial circumstances. Read our full result analysis, scorecards, CompuBox punch stats and the appeal Verhoeven has confirmed: Usyk vs Verhoeven: Rico to Appeal After-Bell Stoppage →

By Ben | Split Decision
Updated 24 May 2026, 09:00 BST with result and post-fight coverage.

 

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Oleksandr Usyk fought Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, 23 May 2026, at the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. The fight was branded Glory in Giza and promoted by Matchroom Boxing in partnership with Turki Alalshikh and Ring Magazine. This page covers the fight-night build-up, ringwalk schedule and weigh-in results. For the full result and post-fight analysis, see our Usyk vs Verhoeven result page.

Glory in Giza Card Results

Saturday 23 May 2026 · Pyramids of Giza · DAZN PPV

Time (BST)FightDivisionTitle / StakeResult
6:00pmDaniel Lapin vs Benjamin Mendes TaniLight heavyweightIntercontinental titlesMendes TaniTKO Rd 4 (1:27)
6:53pmMizuki Hiruta vs Mai SolimanSuper flyweightWBO / Ring world titlesHirutaUnanimous decision
7:37pmFrank Sanchez vs Richard Torrez JrHeavyweightIBF final eliminatorSanchezKO Rd 2
8:39pmJack Catterall vs Shakhram GiyasovWelterweightVacant WBA “regular” titleCatterallUD (119-108, 118-109, 116-111)
9:42pmHamzah Sheeraz vs Alem BegicSuper middleweightVacant WBO titleSheerazKO Rd 2 (2:33, body shot)
10:48pmOleksandr Usyk vs Rico VerhoevenHeavyweightWBC world titleUsykTKO Rd 11
Full result analysis, scorecards, CompuBox punch stats and the Verhoeven appeal: Usyk vs Verhoeven: Rico to Appeal After-Bell Stoppage →

Glory in Giza Prelim Results

Pyramids of Giza · 23 May 2026

FightDivisionResult
Jamar Talley vs Basem MamdouhCruiserweightTalleyKO Rd 2
Sultan Almohammed vs Dedy ImpraxLightweightAlmohammedKO Rd 1
Mahmoud Mobark vs Ali SserunkumaCruiserweightMobarkUnanimous decision
Omar Hikal vs Michael KalyalyaWelterweightHikalKO Rd 3
Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven fight poster for Glory in Giza heavyweight title fight on 23 May 2026

Usyk vs Verhoeven Tale of the Tape

Oleksandr Usyk

  • Nationality: Ukrainian
  • Age: 39
  • Height: 6ft 2in (191cm)
  • Reach: 78in (198cm)
  • Stance: Southpaw
  • Total fights: 24
  • Record: 24-0 (15 KOs)

Rico Verhoeven

  • Nationality: Dutch
  • Age: 36
  • Height: 6ft 5in (196cm)
  • Reach: 77in (196cm)
  • Stance: Orthodox
  • Total fights: 1 (boxing)
  • Record: 1-0 (1 KO) in boxing; 66-10 (21 KOs) in kickboxing

 

Usyk’s southpaw stance against Verhoeven’s orthodox guard is one of the key tactic’s to this fight.

Pre-Fight Analysis

Usyk weighs-in at a career heaviest: 233.3lbs

Oleksandr Usyk has tipped the scales at a career-heaviest 233.3lbs ahead of his WBC heavyweight title defence against Rico Verhoeven. That’s a 7lb increase on the 226lbs he carried into his second Daniel Dubois fight last July, and a clear signal that the Usyk camp has been bulking specifically for the size of the man across the ring.

Verhoeven came in at 258.7lbs, 25lbs heavier than the champion, but actually 6lbs lighter than he weighed for his final kickboxing fight against Artem Vakhitov in June 2025.

The size gap is significant but not unprecedented for Usyk. He gave up 21lbs to Tyson Fury in their first fight and won. He gave up similar against Daniel Dubois twice and stopped him both times. Verhoeven is bigger again, but boxing weight is not the same as boxing experience.

Both fighters will weigh in again at the ceremonial weigh-ins later today. All other fighters on the card made weight without issue.

  • Oleksandr Usyk: 233.3lbs (career heaviest)
  • Rico Verhoeven: 258.7lbs
  • Weight difference: 25.4lbs in Verhoeven’s favour
Usyk vs Verhoeven tale of the tape infographic comparing age, record, knockouts, height, reach and stance for the boxing matchup.

Who is Rico Verhoeven?

Rico Verhoeven is widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight kickboxer of his generation. The 36-year-old Dutchman ruled GLORY Kickboxing for over a decade, holding the heavyweight title for 4,220 days across 13 successful defences, the longest reign in the promotion’s history.

He has not lost a kickboxing fight since 2015. His final kickboxing record stands at 66-10 with 21 knockouts across 76 professional bouts.

To prepare for Usyk, he has been training under Peter Fury, Tyson Fury’s uncle and former trainer. He has sparred extensively with Tyson himself.

“I spent twelve years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish. But staying at the top 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.” – Rico Verhoeven

Which belts are on the line?

Usyk’s WBC heavyweight title is the only recognised world title Verhoeven can win on the night. The WBA and IBF belts are not directly available to Verhoeven because he is not ranked by those bodies, although both have attached conditions if Usyk loses.

The IBF has said its heavyweight title would become vacant immediately if Usyk is beaten, while the WBA would review Usyk’s status.

Why is Usyk fighting a kickboxer?

The logic is similar to the crossover appeal behind Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fighting Francis Ngannou: a decorated boxing champion, a dominant name from another combat sport and enough curiosity to pull in a wider audience.

The difference is that Usyk is still defending a recognised world title, which is why the sanctioning-body situation matters.

Keep up to date with all the latest news as fight week approaches.

What are Usyk’s other options at heavyweight?

Usyk has limited conventional options. Since 2021 he has beaten Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Daniel Dubois, all of them twice each. A bout with Deontay Wilder was discussed but Wilder opted to face Derek Chisora instead.

In the build up to the fight Oleksandr 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. But this is boxing, a different game, with its own rules and its own kings.“

What are the odds for Usyk vs Verhoeven?

Latest odds have Oleksandr Usyk as a huge favourite at 1/33, with the draw at 50/1 and Rico Verhoeven at 13/1.

In simple terms, those odds suggest roughly:

  • Oleksandr Usyk: 97.1% implied chance
  • Draw: 2.0% implied chance
  • Rico Verhoeven: 7.1% implied chance

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