{"id":1375093,"date":"2026-05-24T02:43:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/?p=1375093"},"modified":"2026-05-24T02:43:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:43:36","slug":"oleksandr-usyk-knocked-out-rico-verhoeven-in-a-tough-fight-and-defended-his-championship-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/oleksandr-usyk-knocked-out-rico-verhoeven-in-a-tough-fight-and-defended-his-championship-titles\/","title":{"rendered":"Oleksandr Usyk Knocked Out Rico Verhoeven in a Tough Fight and Defended His Championship Titles"},"content":{"rendered":"

A boxing match between WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) and Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven (1-0) took place in Egypt near the Pyramids of Giza, UATV English <\/a>reports.<\/p>\n

In the opening rounds, Verhoeven, who was considered the underdog, acted much more actively than the Ukrainian. Usyk absorbed several punches.<\/p>\n

Closer to the middle of the fight, Oleksandr managed to level the situation, but Verhoeven effectively used his advantage in height and reach.<\/p>\n

In the 11th round, Usyk managed to turn the tide of the fight and claimed victory by technical knockout.<\/p>\n

For Usyk, this became the 25th victory of his professional career. Verhoeven suffered the first defeat in his second boxing match under professional boxing rules.<\/p>\n

In addition to retaining his title, the Ukrainian won exclusive trophies \u2014 a unique King of the Nile belt and a precious pendant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Ukraine is being bombed right now. My family is hiding and writing \u2018I love you,\u2019\u201d those were Usyk\u2019s first words after the fight.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It should be recalled that in his previous bout, Oleksandr Usyk defeated British boxer Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) in a rematch and became the undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time.<\/p>\n

Earlier, it was reported that Usyk would receive a massive purse for the fight against Verhoeven in Egypt.<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/strong> Rebuilding Without Dependence: From $588 Billion in Damage to a New Ukrainian Economy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A boxing match between WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight world champion Oleksandr …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":1375094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,36422,55],"tags":[76,78],"sources":[],"class_list":["post-1375093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-11473-news-en-3","category-ukraine-en","tag-glavnoe-en","tag-homepage-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOleksandr Usyk Knocked Out Rico Verhoeven in a Tough Fight and Defended His Championship Titles - Freedom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/oleksandr-usyk-knocked-out-rico-verhoeven-in-a-tough-fight-and-defended-his-championship-titles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oleksandr Usyk Knocked Out Rico Verhoeven in a Tough Fight and Defended His Championship Titles - 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