Overview
- The fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven is scheduled for Saturday, May 23 in Giza for the WBC heavyweight title.
- The WBC approved the matchup, the WBA will count a Usyk win as a defense without letting Verhoeven claim its ‘super’ belt, and the IBF requires a mandatory defense within 180 days if Usyk wins.
- If Usyk loses, Verhoeven would take the WBC belt while the IBF title would be declared vacant and the WBA would review Usyk’s status.
- Frank Sanchez vs Richard Torrez Jr. serves as an IBF heavyweight eliminator on the undercard, alongside Hamzah Sheeraz vs Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super‑middleweight title and Jack Catterall vs Shakhram Giyasov.
- Usyk arrives unbeaten and seen as the division’s leader, while Verhoeven is a long‑reigning GLORY kickboxing champion with only one prior pro boxing bout, a spectacle Usyk himself framed as “bread and circuses.”