As Oleksandr Usyk gets set to defend his unified heavyweight titles, most boxing fans know very little about his opponent, kickboxing champ Rico Verhoeven. We take a closer look at the challenger.
Coming up Saturday night in Giza, Egypt, unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend the WBC and Ring Magazine titles against a prominent "Kickboxer," who has little actual boxing experience.
That man is Rico Verhoeven.
At 36, Dutch kickboxing icon holds multiple "Glory Boxing" records, including the most wins in title fights (14), the longest streak of consecutive title defenses (13), the most overall victories (28), and the promotion’s longest unbeaten run (27).
Verhoeven is also tied for the most appearances in Glory Boxing history with 29 bouts.
Outside kickboxing, Verhoeven has also competed in MMA and professional boxing, winning his sole contest in the ring by first round knockout.
He last defended his Glory heavyweight title in June 2025, earning a unanimous decision victory over former two-time light heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov. Months later, in November, Verhoeven announced his retirement from kickboxing, ending his decorated career with 66 wins across 76 fights.
Now, for the first time since 2014, Verhoeven is stepping back into the boxing ring with the goal of becoming the first fighter to hand Oleksandr Usyk a defeat in the professional ranks.
You can hear insider Dan Rafael with me previewing what, if any, chance Verhoeven has to upset the heavily favored, unbeaten Usyk off our "Big Fight Weekend Preview Podcast" by clicking play below,
Verhoeven spoke from the final press conference on Thursday afternoon,
“The beautiful country of Egypt already brings so much history with it and then being so close to they pyramids that have been here for thousands of years and now we’re in 2026 and still Egypt is writing history and me and Oleksandr are a small part of that history with headlining this main event on this card,” said Verhoeven. “So that’s why I say I feel so thankful…”
“I’m bring something [that] he hasn’t seen before because he only face boxers and they’ve been boxing their whole life and I haven’t. So, it’s just like a whole different approach and like he said, it’s God’s will. So, we’ll see on Saturday. May the best man win.”
The 39 year old Usyk won the undisputed heavyweight crowns and successfully defended them in two fights with Tyson Fury in 2024. He's also the former undisputed cruiserweight champion, as well. And, he's widely regarded as the best heavyweight of the past decade due to having also beaten former unified champion Anthony Joshua twice, as well in 2021 and 22.
So, it will not be an easy task for Verhoeven to stay with the talented boxer and excellent defensive fighter in Usyk. But, he does have been event experience in his own niche' of combat sports.
And, now, we see what he has in a boxing ring in front of the Pyramids for the biggest prize in the sport.
