Now Jake Paul’s Most Priceless Promotions desires to revive talks for a fight between Verhoeven and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
“MVP is 100% concerned with working with Rico on his next outing in boxing or MMA,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO and co-founder of MVP, told The Ring.
Verhoeven had previously been linked to Ngannou before accepting the Usyk fight. Ngannou as a substitute fought Philipe Lins earlier this month, stopping him in a single round.
Ngannou reacted strongly to Rico’s performance against Usyk and suggested crossover fighters are judged in another way once they enter boxing.
“Outsiders won’t ever win, trust me, I do know, but Rico was the winner tonight, period,” Ngannou said on social media after the fight.
Jake Paul also questioned the result after the controversial stoppage, praising Verhoeven’s performance against the unbeaten heavyweight champion.
“I actually love boxing, and what happened seriously makes me sad. The game and the fans deserve higher,” Jake said on social media.
“I can’t get away from this, but Usyk is the very best of our generation, and Rico just worked him every round. So is Rico the very best of our generation?”
Verhoeven later said he plans to proceed boxing following the Usyk fight, opening the door for potential bouts against Ngannou and other heavyweights.
The timing could change into complicated, nevertheless. Turki Alalshikh has already spoken publicly about wanting Usyk to face Agit Kabayel next before revisiting a rematch with Verhoeven afterward. That might leave Rico waiting unless one other major fight is finalized within the meantime.
A Verhoeven-Ngannou fight may now be considered one of the most important crossover bouts available in combat sports.