Usyk Stops Verhoeven in 11th Round to Retain WBC Heavyweight Title

Oleksandr Usyk retained the WBC heavyweight title with an 11th-round TKO of Rico Verhoeven on May 23, 2026, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The stoppage occurred at 2:59 of the round, one second before the bell. The fight was widely viewed as a mismatch beforehand.

Verhoeven, a former kickboxer making only his second professional boxing appearance, exceeded expectations by staying competitive through ten rounds.

Two judges had the fight even at 95-95 after ten rounds.

The third judge scored it 96-94 for Verhoeven. Usyk landed 112 of 499 punches while Verhoeven connected on 113 of 508, according to the reported statistics.

The Final Sequence Usyk dropped Verhoeven with a right uppercut late in the 11th round. Verhoeven rose and received extra time to replace his mouthpiece before the referee waved off the bout. " — Rico Verhoeven, May 24, 2026 (Al Jazeera) The referee's decision drew immediate criticism from the broadcast team and later from Verhoeven, who said the official should have allowed the round to end.

Usyk improved to 25-0 as a professional boxer.

Verhoeven fell to 1-1. The WBC has ordered Agit Kabayel as Usyk's mandatory challenger. Event organizers indicated Kabayel would fight next, with a possible Verhoeven rematch to follow if Verhoeven secures additional victories. Usyk stated he remained open to a rematch.