{"id":322980,"date":"2026-04-22T22:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=322980"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:32:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:02:32","slug":"kickboxing-champion-explains-why-boxing-fans-are-unsuitable-to-rule-rico-verhoeven-out-in-oleksandr-usyk-bout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/kickboxing-champion-explains-why-boxing-fans-are-unsuitable-to-rule-rico-verhoeven-out-in-oleksandr-usyk-bout\/","title":{"rendered":"Kickboxing champion explains why boxing fans are unsuitable to rule Rico Verhoeven out in Oleksandr Usyk bout"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Follow us on Google Discover<\/span> <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

On May 23, Rico Verhoeven will challenge Oleksandr Usyk in a fight many see as a mismatch.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Verhoeven turned down a greater offer to compete in MMA in favor of stepping within the ring with one of the best heavyweight boxer on the planet.<\/p>\n

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With just one skilled boxing bout to his name, many can be quick to put in writing off the kickboxing legend\u2019s probabilities of pulling off a large upset.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, it isn\u2019t just Verhoeven\u2019s friend Tom Aspinall who thinks that the Dutch striker may not be getting the respect he deserves.<\/p>\n

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Will you tune in for Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven?<\/h3>\n

Comment below why you are in or out on this clash of styles.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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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

Donovan Wisse highlights Rico Verhoeven\u2019s physical attributes and mentality ahead of Oleksandr Usyk bout<\/h2>\n

Rico Verhoeven ended his legendary GLORY heavyweight title run last 12 months when he decided to vacate the belt after going undefeated for 11 years.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with Bloody Elbow, the promotion\u2019s middleweight champion, Donovan Wisse, explained why he believes his fellow kickboxer will surprise people on May 23.<\/p>\n

Wisse, who has put together his own dominant title reign ahead of his return to face Chico Kwasi on April 25 at GLORY 107, praised Verhoeven for being an elite athlete.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel he\u2019s got the mentality. He\u2019s got the work ethic. He\u2019s got the footwork. He\u2019s got the team, especially. I also think it was his dream to box\u2026 He\u2019s got a reasonably good likelihood because I do know kickboxers train really hard only for five rounds and that\u2019s because we’re kicking too. This is barely boxing, only hands, so if he takes that mentality into the boxing ring and a boxing training camp, he\u2019s going to be a beast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wisse also spoke about one other attribute that Verhoeven brings to the table on this fight that he can relate to.<\/p>\n

It has been an extended time because the Dutch heavyweight last tasted defeat and that may give him the boldness of a champion.<\/p>\n

Wisse specifically highlighted, as one example, Verhoeven\u2019s remarkable comeback to stop Jamal Ben Saddik in 2021 after being dropped and suffering an enormous cut within the second round.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows what winning is because he can dig deep and he has proven it time and time again,\u201d Wisse said. \u201cWhen he was busted up within the kickboxing ring, he knocked Ben Saddik out within the fourth round. Rico is a dangerous guy\u2026 I feel he\u2019s going to surprise everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Follow us on Google Discover On May 23, Rico Verhoeven will challenge Oleksandr Usyk in a fight many see as a mismatch. Verhoeven turned down a greater offer to compete in MMA in favor of stepping within the ring with one of the best heavyweight boxer on the planet. With just one skilled boxing bout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":322981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[338],"tags":[9226,2471,1470,2704,815,15118,8807,9293,1537,8808,47866,7364],"class_list":["post-322980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-bout","tag-boxing","tag-champion","tag-explains","tag-fans","tag-kickboxing","tag-oleksandr","tag-rico","tag-rule","tag-usyk","tag-verhoeven","tag-wrong"],"aioseo_notices":[{"message":"The permalink for this post just changed! This could result in 404 errors for your site visitors.","status":"warning","options":{"id":"0a2ae5f84bc2c0423042ed7ec22d2e40","isDismissible":true,"actions":[{"url":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/wp-admin\/admin.php?page=aioseo-redirects","label":"Add Redirect to improve SEO","class":"aioseo-redirects-slug-changed"}]},"allowedContexts":["posts"]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322980","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=322980"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322983,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322980\/revisions\/322983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}