Rico Verhoeven confirms plan to appeal Oleksandr Usyk defeat after controversial stoppage

Rico Verhoeven has confirmed that he will launch an official appeal after his fight with Oleksandr Usyk was ended prematurely.

The iconic kickboxing champion was on his way to likely losing on the scorecards despite seemingly dominating the undefeated two-weight undisputed champion Usyk. With seconds to go in the 11th, he was dropped with a big right uppercut and when the boxer came in and attacked the fight was stopped.

Footage posted after the fight from ringside appeared to show the stoppage coming after the bell had rang, and almost during an exchange between the two heavyweights. This is technically allowed, but there was massive controversy over referee Mark Lyson’s decision to step in.

Rico Verhoeven will launch official appeal over Oleksandr Usyk stoppage

After the fight, Turki Alalshikh expressed a keen interest in having Rico Verhoeven rematch Oleksandr Usyk. However, there was also a very quick shift into a face-off with top contender Agit Kabayel as the sport looked to move on from a major black eye.

Verhoeven will look to force the issue now through an official appeal, telling Boxing News: “They stopped the fight after the bell. I think we’re just going to go ahead and file an appeal because this makes no sense.