Tim Bradley believes Oleksandr Usyk didn’t prepare seriously enough for his fight against Rico Verhoeven, and he thinks the heavyweight champion paid for it with one among the roughest nights of his profession.
Bradley questioned Usyk’s conditioning, focus, and overall sharpness while reacting to the controversial stoppage victory over Verhoeven in the course of the latest episode of his “Into the Storm” show. The previous two-division world champion said Usyk looked heavier than normal before the opening bell and never resembled the fighter fans had seen in past title fights.
“I feel he half-ass trained. I don’t think that he fully trained,” said Bradley on his YouTube channel. “I assumed that he was just going to walk through this guy, and this guy had his own freaking agenda. That’s what it’s.”
Bradley pointed to Usyk’s movement and appearance early within the fight as signs something was off.
“Soon as I saw the scales when Usyk coming in about six, seven kilos over his often optimum weight, I said, ‘Ah oh.’ I hope this man didn’t take this dude frivolously,” said Bradley.
“After which he gets within the ring in the primary round. I’m like, ‘Who the hell is that this?’ This ain’t the identical Usyk I do know that got energy and bouncing on his toes.”
Bradley also praised Verhoeven’s game plan and said the kickboxing star gave Usyk way more trouble than expected by repeatedly forcing the southpaw into uncomfortable positions.
“Rico was in Usyk’s ass, period,” said Bradley. “He was within the fight, and he had a hell of a game plan.”
The Hall of Fame analyst added that Usyk still deserves credit for making adjustments late and getting the stoppage, but he warned that a dangerous fight against WBC interim heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel could now arrive on the unsuitable time for the aging champion.
“This might just be the proper time for him and defeating Usyk,” Bradley said about Kabayel.
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Last Updated on 2026/05/27 at 10:53 PM