Oleksandr Usyk & Rico Verhoeven Launch Presser!

(April 14th) Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven came face-to-face as the two prepare to clash on May 23rd at the Pyramids of Giza, live on DAZN.

WBC Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk, the pound-for-pound king of boxing and undisputed cruiserweight legend faces Rico Verhoeven, the 10-year undefeated GLORY kickboxing champion, in a crossover fight unlike anything combat sports has ever seen. At the official launch press conference in London, both fighters locked eyes without flinching, refusing to break the face-off for over five minutes as tensions rose ahead of their blockbuster showdown on May 23, 2026, at the shadows of the Great Pyramids in Egypt.

This isn't just a fight—it's a collision of two worlds: boxing's most technical mastermind against kickboxing's most dominant heavyweight. Live exclusively on DAZN, "Glory in Giza" promises to be the most unusual title defense in heavyweight history.

Usyk, 24-0, 15Ko’s defends his universally recognized WBC Heavyweight Title in a 12-round bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Council. Verhoeven, fighting in only his second professional boxing match, steps up from 270lbs of kickboxing dominance to challenge the best boxer on the planet.

Usyk emphasized that size doesn't determine strength and that he feels no pressure entering his opponent's world: "If a person is bigger than me, it doesn't mean they're stronger than me. If they have longer arms, it doesn't mean anything. No pressure for me—it's just a fight."

He called the fight a personal challenge and explained his motivation: "For me, it's a challenge… I want to do what I want, not what other people need. Now I do what I need."

He also described boxing as more than sport: "Boxing is an instrument… God gave me the chance through boxing. It helped me find friends, my team, so many people who now help each other. I love boxing, but I love life."

Verhoeven, 1-0, 1Ko openly thanked Usyk for making the fight happen and declared his belief that his power could end the champion: "I'm crazy excited to be here and super thankful for the opportunity that Alexander Usyk is giving me… He's doing something he wants to do now, and he was open to the fight."

On defeating Usyk: "When I land my best shot clean, he will go down. He's like a built-up cruiserweight. I'm a naturally born heavyweight—that's a big difference."

Verhoeven sees this as the ultimate test: "To be the very best at what you're doing, you have to be a little bit crazy… This is something very special. We're colliding two worlds together—kickboxing and boxing—to make combat sports even bigger."

The press conference ended with both fighters refusing to budge during the face-off, setting the tone for what promoter Eddie Hearn called "a pyramid to climb" for Verhoeven against one of the greatest fighters of all time.

About The Ring Magazine: Since its acquisition by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh in November 2024, The Ring has entered a new era, reinforcing its status as boxing’s most legendary and authoritative voice.

The magazine has showcased many of the sport’s biggest fights and most iconic moments, most recently Ryan Garcia vs Mario Barrios at the T-Mobile Arena, Shakur Stevenson vs Teofimo Lopez at a sold out Madison Square Garden, British boxing’s most talked about match-up between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, as well as the legacy-defining showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford in Las Vegas, often described as “the fight of the century.”