Rico Verhoeven came close to dethroning Oleksandr Usyk, and there is now demand for the pair to run it back. Tony Bellew, who faced Usyk back in 2018, has revealed how he thinks a rematch would play out.
When Verhoeven was announced as Usyk’s opponent earlier this year, large portions of the boxing community were frustrated by what looked to be an evening more focused on being an event rather than an intriguing clash for the coveted heavyweight world title.
To the amazement of many, fans were provided with both, as the Dutchman pushed Usyk to the limit and, while the WBC’s open scoring informed him otherwise, many viewers believed that the underdog had done enough to be comfortably ahead on the scorecards before a controversial round 11 stoppage.
As a result, boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh has already confirmed his interest in a rematch. Despite the challenger’s success, on the ‘Fight Your Corner’ podcast, Bellew said that he believes Usyk would come out on top again.
“Of course I do [think that Oleksandr Usyk wins the rematch], because he has now got the [blueprint].”
Bellew, speaking to Verhoeven directly, did go on to say that his opinion counts for little given how wide of the mark his prediction was for their initial encounter.
“My opinion is irrelevant because his [Verhoeven’s] performance shows that I haven’t got a clue, you have just got to hold your hands up and go ‘listen, I got it completely wrong’. Instead of all the other muppets that are holding hands up like me, but going, ‘you know what, Oleksandr is tired and he is past it’, no. You all got it wrong, just own your mistake.
“You [Verhoeven] were brilliant and you did what others have tried and, to a certain extent, others have had success in, but you had more success than anybody else.”
Whilst Verhoeven will believe his performance warrants a second shot at the Ukrainian, it seems as though a mandatory defence against Agit Kabayel will take priority, with the latter promised a long-awaited title challenge next.
