Many boxing fans believe Oleksandr Usyk was just a round away from one of the greatest upsets in heavyweight history against Rico Verhoeven, and now Queensberry Promoter Frank Warren has had his say on the fight.
With just one professional boxing bout to his name, Verhoeven was given minimal chance by most people ahead of his unconventional clash with Usyk at the Pyramids of Giza.
The Dutchman soon proved that he needed to be taken seriously, as his style caused issues for Usyk, who struggled to win rounds and looked off the pace throughout.
Ahead of round 11, it was revealed that two judges had the fight level, whilst one had Verhoeven 96-94 up. In an interview with iFL TV, Warren labelled the scoring as ‘atrocious’, believing the underdog’s performance to have merited a larger margin.
“I actually thought it turned into a really good fight, an enjoyable fight to watch and he was winning it. I had him four or five [rounds] up, I thought that the scoring was atrocious.”
In that penultimate round those scorecards were made redundant, as referee Mark Lyson intervened after Verhoeven eas floored via Usyk uppercut and then put under pressure in the corner.
Continuing, Warren said that a more experienced operator would have given himself some extra time and seen out the round.
“I think that if he [Verhoeven] had a bit more experience when he went down [he could have survived the round]. I noticed that his gumshield sort of half came out and he got it back in without touching it, he sort of swallowed it back in.
“Anyone with a bit of experience would have spat it out and maybe that would have got him that extra little bit [of time].”
Verhoeven has appealed the outcome of the fight, hoping to have the result changed to a ‘no contest’ or force an immediate rematch, though the WBC has confirmed Usyk must face mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel, promoted by Warren, next.
