Overview
- Oleksandr Usyk defeated Rico Verhoeven by technical knockout at 2:59 of the 11th round to retain the WBC (CMB) heavyweight title in the Glory in Giza card.
- The referee’s stoppage in the final second of the 11th round is widely contested, with Verhoeven saying he wanted to continue and several outlets describing the call as premature.
- DAZN distributed the event globally as a pay‑per‑view stream, and multiple outlets reported large, unverified purses for the fighters with Usyk estimated near $50 million and Verhoeven near £15 million.
- The outdoor production used a temporary arena built to protect the Pyramids of Giza while the stacked undercard included multiple title fights such as Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Alem Begic and Jack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov.
- Saturday’s finish and the controversy could influence future sanctioning decisions, the acceptability of pitting elite boxers against kickboxing stars, and how promoters balance spectacle with competitive legitimacy.