Rico Verhoeven Demands Oleksandr Usyk Rematch, Disagrees With Ngannou Over Controversial Loss

According to the cards, two judges scored the bout even at 95-95, while another marginally favored him 95-94 through the first 10 rounds of the fight. However, Oleksandr Usyk secured the 11th round with a 10-8 scorecard, leaving Rico Verhoeven needing a knockout in the final round.

The scorecards also paint a much more competitive picture than many viewers initially believed. While social media overwhelmingly rallied behind Verhoeven after the stoppage, the official judging showed that the fight was razor-close.

And, to be honest, that could explain why ‘The King of Kickboxing’ didn’t completely embrace Francis Ngannou‘s “outsider narrative” despite clearly wanting the rematch. Rather than claiming corruption or robbery outright, the Dutch heavyweight focused on getting another shot against the boxing legend and publicly called on Turki Alalshikh to run the fight back.

Regardless of how supporters feel about the stoppage, one thing was evident after the fight: Rico Verhoeven proved that he belongs at the elite heavyweight boxing level. Entering the fight as a major underdog due to his kickboxing background, he pushed one of boxing’s pound-for-pound greats into the deep waters and nearly pulled off one of combat sports’ greatest upsets.

Even in defeat, his stock may have risen higher than ever before. And even though many did not see this coming, UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall already saw an upset coming from a mile away.

Tom Aspinall predicted a major upset as Rico Verhoeven took on Oleksandr Usyk

Long before most fans gave Rico Verhoeven a real chance against Oleksandr Usyk, UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was already certain that the upset was possible. In fact, the Briton had warned fans not to overlook the 37-year-old just because he came from kickboxing, claiming that elite heavyweight striking translates significantly better into boxing than most people think.

“I think anyone can win in combat sports,” Aspinall said on the Fight Your Corner podcast. “I think everyone has got a chance. Rico is a big human being, and he might cause Usyk some problems with his movement. They move different. When I’ve sparred boxers in the past, the success I’ve had is very limited.

“I’ll hold my hands up and say I’m not going out pinging professional boxers in a boxing spar, but the success I’ve had is when I do stuff they’re not used to. I’ll be miles out of range, dive in, and do weird stuff. I won’t do the traditional one-two. Rico has the chance of doing that against Usyk. Doing different stuff that he’s not accustomed to with normal boxers.”

Despite entering as a heavy underdog, Rico Verhoeven remained competitive for much of the fight, forcing Oleksandr Usyk to have a much rougher night than many anticipated. The 37-year-old’s composure and striking ability surprised fans who expected the Ukrainian to overpower him from the start.

That’s why the ending drew such a strong response online. For many fans, this was a perfect example of a combat sports outsider pushing an established boxing superstar to the limit before falling short in controversial fashion.

Francis Ngannou clearly saw parallels to his own Tyson Fury fight, while Tom Aspinall’s earlier prediction suddenly looked far more accurate after Rico Verhoeven nearly pulled off one of heavyweight boxing’s biggest upsets.