Overview
- Unbeaten champion Oleksandr Usyk faces GLORY kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23 in Giza, with the fight sold on DAZN pay‑per‑view at about $59.99 in the US or £24.99 in the UK.
- The WBA and WBC titles are at stake, the IBF belt is not, and IBF officials could declare their title vacant if Usyk loses, with a mandatory defense due within 180 days if he wins.
- A stacked undercard includes Hamzah Sheeraz vs Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super‑middleweight title, Jack Catterall vs Shakhram Giyasov for a WBA welterweight belt, and Frank Sanchez vs Richard Torrez Jr in an IBF final eliminator.
- Verhoeven boasts a long kickboxing reign yet only one pro boxing bout from 2014, a profile that has most analysts backing Usyk while noting Verhoeven’s size and unpredictability as potential X factors.
- Fight week opened with a striking Tuesday faceoff before the Pyramids and Sphinx, highlighting the venue’s limited capacity and pushing many fans toward streaming as the practical way to watch.