Following last month’s attempt to dethrone Oleksandr Usyk, Rico Verhoeven has received heaps of praise from the boxing community, and former WBO cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson has assessed how the Dutchman would fare against British heavyweight duo Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Verhoeven looked in control for much of his clash with Usyk up until round 11, with the Ukrainian struggling to find a rhythm and secure the victory that, pre-fight, most felt was a foregone conclusion.
After surviving one knockdown, Verhoeven was stopped on his feet following a barrage of punches from the unified champion, with referee Mark Lyson coming in for severe criticism, accused by many of stepping in too early.
Since then, Verhoeven has confirmed that he plans to remain in the sport of boxing, and he has received a heavyweight ranking with two sanctioning bodies.
However, speaking to Froch on Fighting, Nelson feared that the Dutchman may struggle against the likes of Fury and Joshua now that ‘the element of surprise’ has gone.
“Usyk is only human, he couldn’t lift himself for someone that he didn’t respect and I’ll tell you now, you have only got one time to make your first impression.
“If he would have got in with ‘AJ’, if he would have got in with Tyson Fury, and nobody saw him – Rico would have beaten both.
“Now that we know what Rico is about. Anthony Joshua would probably do what happened to [Francis] Ngannou. We know what he is about, we think ’s**t, he is big, he is strong and he can take a bit of a clattering’.
“The element of surprise is gone. So, now if Fury and AJ boxed him, they would beat him, but if they boxed him for the first time without seeing him, he would have beat those boys.”
Verhoeven could potentially secure an immediate rematch with Usyk, but the Ukrainian has been ordered to face WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel and risks being stripped of that belt if he doesn’t follow through.
