{"id":321764,"date":"2026-04-20T17:24:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T11:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=321764"},"modified":"2026-04-20T17:24:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T11:54:34","slug":"eddie-hall-predicts-scariest-man-on-the-planet-rico-verhoeven-will-shock-oleksandr-usyk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/eddie-hall-predicts-scariest-man-on-the-planet-rico-verhoeven-will-shock-oleksandr-usyk\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Hall predicts &#8216;scariest man on the planet&#8217; Rico Verhoeven will shock Oleksandr Usyk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-304936\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\"> <a class=\"fw\" href=\"https:\/\/profile.google.com\/cp\/Cg0vZy8xMWs2azRtMzFf%20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">  <span>Follow us on Google Discover<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>One in every of kickboxing\u2019s all-time greats will jump straight into the boxing deep end on May 23.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On that date, Rico Verhoeven will make his only his second skilled appearance in the game after bidding farewell to Glory Kickboxing following a 12-year heavyweight title reign.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"><\/figure>\n<p>Many wanted Verhoeven to sign with the UFC, however the Dutchman turned down a possible debut against Derrick Lewis in January and later agreed to bring his striking talents to the boxing realm as an alternative.<\/p>\n<p>There won\u2019t be a probability to warm up, as Verhoeven challenges Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title. Not many are giving the boxing novice a probability, but Eddie Hall has warned people against counting him out.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"18fe354b-88a7-4ea4-b8b6-ad3fa205ad31\" data-story-name=\"Oleksandr Usyk\" data-comment-id=\"14e77aee-4366-441b-9f4d-94a3b7e265b2\" data-story-slug=\"oleksandr-usyk\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-content\">\n<h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">Will you tune in for Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven?<\/h3>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">Comment below why you are in or out on this clash of styles.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven side-by-side comparison\" class=\"wp-image-295690\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3-912x1140.jpg 912w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3-600x750.jpg 600w, https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1\/2026\/03\/BE-creative-templates-3.jpg 1080w\"><\/div><figcaption title=\"Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven side-by-side comparison. Credit: Richard Pelham\/Silas Tahapary\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images  \">Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven side-by-side comparison. Credit: Richard Pelham\/Silas Tahapary\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eddie Hall thinks Rico Verhoeven could beat Oleksandr Usyk of their boxing match<\/h2>\n<p>Usyk will fight Verhoeven in Egypt, with the pair\u2019s contest on the Pyramids on May 23 dubbed \u2018Glory in Giza\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The booking has been a polarizing one attributable to Verhoeven\u2019s boxing inexperience, but Hall doesn&#8217;t expect that to forestall the \u2018King of Kickboxing\u2019 from pulling off an almighty upset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe Rico\u2019s going to surprise a number of people,\u201d Hall said during an appearance on <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6RS35rjDyXY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Ariel Helwani Show<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWin or lose, he&#8217;s going to shock the world. Everyone has written him off.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-closed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" data-type=\"twitter\"><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"embed_304936_1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more twitter\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f &#8220;He&#8217;s a built-up cruiserweight.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udde3\ufe0f &#8220;We&#8217;ll see.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rico Verhoeven with some strong words, but Oleksandr Usyk is unfazed \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n<p>Glory in Giza | May twenty third | LIVE on DAZN \ud83e\udd4a <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VCQsGSgMvC\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/VCQsGSgMvC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ringmagazine\/status\/2044094761955401865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">April 14, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><label for=\"embed_304936_1\" data-type=\"twitter\">View Tweet<\/label><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The retired strongman, who won the 2017 World\u2019s Strongest Man\u00a0competition, has been competing in combat sports lately.<\/p>\n<p>Hall knocked out Mariusz Pudzianowski in MMA and lost to Thor Bjornsson in his first boxing match. Amid his fighting exploits, the Englishman has been capable of see Verhoeven up close within the gym.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually have had the privilege to spend quite a little bit of time with Rico,\u201d he continued. \u201cI\u2019ve trained with Rico, been to observe his fights at ringside. He has got to be, hand on heart, probably the most frightening person on the planet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe Rico is the scariest man on the planet, hands down. If there\u2019s one man on the planet you wouldn\u2019t wish to fight, it&#8217;s Rico Verhoeven. He&#8217;s a foul motherf\u2014-.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cone hundred pc he has a probability. I truthfully think Rico goes to be a giant, big problem for Usyk,\u201d Hall added. \u201cRico\u2019s not going to box him, he\u2019s just going to attack him. Boxers aren\u2019t used to that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsyk\u2019s in for a shock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Hall can have his eyes on Verhoeven\u2019s probability to shock the world next month, he can be deep into preparations for his next outing.<\/p>\n<p>Hall will box Tommy Fury on June 13 in a match that is predicted to have a size difference of around 120 kilos.<\/p>\n<p>After that, there&#8217;s talk of a possible MMA clash with ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, a bout that was also on the table for Verhoeven before the Usyk match was made official.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/bloodyelbow.com\/2026\/04\/19\/eddie-hall-predicts-scariest-man-on-the-planet-rico-verhoeven-will-shock-oleksandr-usyk\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"><\/use><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our greatest Bloody Elbow content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow us on Google Discover One in every of kickboxing\u2019s all-time greats will jump straight into the boxing deep end on May 23. On that date, Rico Verhoeven will make his only his second skilled appearance in the game after bidding farewell to Glory Kickboxing following a 12-year heavyweight title reign. Many wanted Verhoeven to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":321765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[8150,1012,1054,8807,3136,4415,9293,10631,3856,8808,47866],"class_list":["post-321764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-eddie","tag-hall","tag-man","tag-oleksandr","tag-planet","tag-predicts","tag-rico","tag-scariest","tag-shock","tag-usyk","tag-verhoeven"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321764"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321767,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321764\/revisions\/321767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}