Round-by-Round: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven - 23 May 2026

[gregregegg]

While the scoring is in part redundant it’s a perfect example of what I consider a “professional foul” which gets you a card in football or rugby and should get you a point in boxing…. As I said a bit redundant, but I think Rico should have had a point taken for the mouthguard antics.

I have seen it many times, and every time I think it should be a point. In fact I am of the opinion that if the fight is stopped so you can put your mouthguard in it should be a point off no matter what’s (9/10 times it’s either cause you got clipped or are tired and you shouldent be rewarded with a rest for letting it fall out)…

Really it’s the same as a 10 count… you trade (voulantary or not) a small rest for a point… same thing with mouth guards, you get a small rest, you should loose a point.

[TheLeprechaun]

I didn't score the fight but it felt like Rico was way ahead. When the 76-76 score was announced I was pretty shocked. There is no way 76-76 was the right score there. I think Usyk would have won anyway because he would have got to Rico and got him out of there late.

Personally I have to have big questions about Usyk. I'm just not seeing the likes of Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Larry Holmes, Holyfield and so on, struggling with Rico. I really suspect that Joshua and Fury are levels below those guys and Usyk is becoming pretty overhyped.

[joshj909]

I didn't score the fight but it felt like Rico was way ahead. When the 76-76 score was announced I was pretty shocked. There is no way 76-76 was the right score there. I think Usyk would have won anyway because he would have got to Rico and got him out of there late.

Personally I have to have big questions about Usyk. I'm just not seeing the likes of Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Larry Holmes, Holyfield and so on, struggling with Rico. I really suspect that Joshua and Fury are levels below those guys and Usyk is becoming pretty overhyped.

To be the devil's advocate, Lewis actually lost to Rahman and McCall: Holmes lost to McCall and Nielsen; Holyfield lost to Moorer, Bowe, Ruiz and then a load of others. Usyk still has not lost a fight despite being up against it several times, even with this woeful underperformance.

At Usyk's age, Holyfield lost to Ruiz and was about to go on a three fight skid but you've still considered him as one of the greats.

[ScottDetonator]

Has Rico been on the Zapply?

[Controversial]

It's kind of funny when you hear experts talking about how fighters should stand, throw punches etc and then Rico comes in crouched down really low and just threw loads of punches and almost pulled off a huge upset.

[golden_labrador]

Has Rico been on the Zapply?

dangit. I'm going to have adverts for this now I just googled to find out what it was...

[SeanBrennan]

Has Rico been on the Zapply?

dangit. I'm going to have adverts for this now I just googled to find out what it was...

You’re done for now mate you’ll be Zapplyspammed (Zammed) forever now!

[JamesPhilips]

It's kind of funny when you hear experts talking about how fighters should stand, throw punches etc and then Rico comes in crouched down really low and just threw loads of punches and almost pulled off a huge upset.

I think his bizarre awkward style confused Usyk oddly. It was very noticeable how tucked in he kept his chin and crouched. A style which you don’t relate to a kick-boxer and a stance he doesn’t use in kick.

Good work Peter Fury I guess

[Controversial]

It's kind of funny when you hear experts talking about how fighters should stand, throw punches etc and then Rico comes in crouched down really low and just threw loads of punches and almost pulled off a huge upset.

I think his bizarre awkward style confused Usyk oddly. It was very noticeable how tucked in he kept his chin and crouched. A style which you don’t relate to a kick-boxer and a stance he doesn’t use in kick.

Good work Peter Fury I guess

Yeah, you often hear boxers say they struggle sparring a novice more than a decent fighter as the novices do things you don’t expect so I guess there’s an element of this too.

[JamesPhilips]

It's kind of funny when you hear experts talking about how fighters should stand, throw punches etc and then Rico comes in crouched down really low and just threw loads of punches and almost pulled off a huge upset.

I think his bizarre awkward style confused Usyk oddly. It was very noticeable how tucked in he kept his chin and crouched. A style which you don’t relate to a kick-boxer and a stance he doesn’t use in kick.

Good work Peter Fury I guess

Yeah, you often hear boxers say they struggle sparring a novice more than a decent fighter as the novices do things you don’t expect so I guess there’s an element of this too.

Right. There was something almost comical about Rico’s style. Many people posting that Jim Carrey shadowboxing gif are on the money. All the same it was weird seeing Usyk struggle so much.

[Finkel]

It's kind of funny when you hear experts talking about how fighters should stand, throw punches etc and then Rico comes in crouched down really low and just threw loads of punches and almost pulled off a huge upset.

I think his bizarre awkward style confused Usyk oddly. It was very noticeable how tucked in he kept his chin and crouched. A style which you don’t relate to a kick-boxer and a stance he doesn’t use in kick.

Good work Peter Fury I guess

Yeah, you often hear boxers say they struggle sparring a novice more than a decent fighter as the novices do things you don’t expect so I guess there’s an element of this too.

Boxing isn't up to much if that is true. Kid goes to a gym to learn to defend himself, but it only works against other boxers

[Controversial]

I think his bizarre awkward style confused Usyk oddly. It was very noticeable how tucked in he kept his chin and crouched. A style which you don’t relate to a kick-boxer and a stance he doesn’t use in kick.

Good work Peter Fury I guess

Yeah, you often hear boxers say they struggle sparring a novice more than a decent fighter as the novices do things you don’t expect so I guess there’s an element of this too.

Boxing isn't up to much if that is true. Kid goes to a gym to learn to defend himself, but it only works against other boxers

Usyk's trainer has pretty much said something similar, they had no idea what to train for and Rico was so big and unorthodox that it caused Usyk problems.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Check out some highlighted excerpts from Krassyuk below.

“We are not getting younger with the time, and this is natural and you can do nothing about it,” Krassyuk said. “The good thing about it is Rico is not a young kid, either. But if we go to analysis and we see who has advantage where, we can easily conclude that Usyk has higher boxing experience, has higher boxing IQ, has several levels higher boxing techniques, footwork — anything need for a fight, to win.

“But Rico has his own advantages which is the effective weight, where he weights 10-12 kilos more than Usyk — no, it’s 15 kilos more and it’s not fat, it’s effective muscle, weight. Where Rico has a helluva heart, a real lion, a fighter that came through all kind of difficulties in his fights. He was in every possible war in his career, who has a helluva stamina, the endurance he trained, he had one of the smartest coaches on the planet earth in his corner. That’s my personal opinion.

“There were more advantages, and the biggest one which I haven’t named yet was the psychological or mental pressure. Rico had zero because if he loses, he loses to the best man on the planet. He earns money, he becomes more famous. If Usyk loses, he loses every single thing: his fame, his legacy, his glory, because people will remember for his last fight. And those small things make difference.

“Before this fight people asked me for the prediction, I told them 100 fights of 100, Usyk wins. But there is also a place for a miracle, the lord’s will. Thank God this time the miracle did not take place, but the signal has to be detected. And once the signal is detected, the conclusions have to be made. And after conclusions are made, the improvements has to be done otherwise the tendency, the vector it’s taking is not a good sign for my brother, Oleksandr.

“[Going into round 11] I only had [scored] three rounds by Usyk. …Usyk did not look fresh…He was in the highest weight that I ever seen him but did you see trend from the previous fight with Dubois and this fight with Rico? The amount of steps he made in the ring significantly declined. So he’s not taking his best advantage of footwork in the ring but he’s more concentrated on a harder punch, when his feet are loaded into the ground to get more power in the fist.

“If I was there to advise him, his next opponent would be his wife, Katarina, his daughter Maria, his daughter Lisa, and his sons, his family matters, maybe his business issues. That’s what he has to take care of now. He has to stop. It’s better to leave one hour before than two minutes after. Unfortunately this is the truth, it’s not just boxing, it concerns every single thing.

“You can’t earn all monies of the world, you can’t beat all fighters of the world, but you need to take this decision, and this is a very difficult decision for a man like Usyk, being [at his peak]. But think of the future. So from the bottom of my heart I wish him to retire at his prime and being remembered in ages as one of the most prominent and greatest fighters of all time.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Cyclops]

Check out some highlighted excerpts from Krassyuk below.

“We are not getting younger with the time, and this is natural and you can do nothing about it,” Krassyuk said. “The good thing about it is Rico is not a young kid, either. But if we go to analysis and we see who has advantage where, we can easily conclude that Usyk has higher boxing experience, has higher boxing IQ, has several levels higher boxing techniques, footwork — anything need for a fight, to win.

“But Rico has his own advantages which is the effective weight, where he weights 10-12 kilos more than Usyk — no, it’s 15 kilos more and it’s not fat, it’s effective muscle, weight. Where Rico has a helluva heart, a real lion, a fighter that came through all kind of difficulties in his fights. He was in every possible war in his career, who has a helluva stamina, the endurance he trained, he had one of the smartest coaches on the planet earth in his corner. That’s my personal opinion.

“There were more advantages, and the biggest one which I haven’t named yet was the psychological or mental pressure. Rico had zero because if he loses, he loses to the best man on the planet. He earns money, he becomes more famous. If Usyk loses, he loses every single thing: his fame, his legacy, his glory, because people will remember for his last fight. And those small things make difference.

“Before this fight people asked me for the prediction, I told them 100 fights of 100, Usyk wins. But there is also a place for a miracle, the lord’s will. Thank God this time the miracle did not take place, but the signal has to be detected. And once the signal is detected, the conclusions have to be made. And after conclusions are made, the improvements has to be done otherwise the tendency, the vector it’s taking is not a good sign for my brother, Oleksandr.

“[Going into round 11] I only had [scored] three rounds by Usyk. I had Rico up seven rounds to three…Usyk did not look fresh…He was in the highest weight that I ever seen him but did you see trend from the previous fight with Dubois and this fight with Rico? The amount of steps he made in the ring significantly declined. So he’s not taking his best advantage of footwork in the ring but he’s more concentrated on a harder punch, when his feet are loaded into the ground to get more power in the fist.

“If I was there to advise him, his next opponent would be his wife, Katarina, his daughter Maria, his daughter Lisa, and his sons, his family matters, maybe his business issues. That’s what he has to take care of now. He has to stop. It’s better to leave one hour before than two minutes after. Unfortunately this is the truth, it’s not just boxing, it concerns every single thing.

“You can’t earn all monies of the world, you can’t beat all fighters of the world, but you need to take this decision, and this is a very difficult decision for a man like Usyk, being [at his peak]. But think of the future. So from the bottom of my heart I wish him to retire at his prime and being remembered in ages as one of the most prominent and greatest fighters of all time.”

Wise words. Hopefully Usyk listens. It's time for the younger guys to carve out their own legacies and for Usyk to turn it in. Maybe Rico is Usyk's Vitali Klitschko? EDIT: I have no idea why my post is in italics but I can't seem to change it.

[gilgamesh]

People calling for Usyk's retirement are being ridiculous.

[Cyclops]

People calling for Usyk's retirement are being ridiculous.

Why? He'll probably be 40 next time he fights, has done everything he needs to do in boxing and will get picked off by a younger fighter not fit to lace his boots a couple of years ago. What's wrong with saying it's time to hang them up?

[gilgamesh]

People calling for Usyk's retirement are being ridiculous.

Why? He'll probably be 40 next time he fights, has done everything he needs to do in boxing and will get picked off by a younger fighter not fit to lace his boots a couple of years ago. What's wrong with saying it's time to hang them up?

A guy can't have 1 tough fight without people calling for him to pack it in? Everyone was saying Wardley oughta quit after losing to Dubois too.

Thinking like that is why regular folks never achieve anything. They'd give up too easy at the first sign of difficulty.

[Cyclops]

People calling for Usyk's retirement are being ridiculous.

Why? He'll probably be 40 next time he fights, has done everything he needs to do in boxing and will get picked off by a younger fighter not fit to lace his boots a couple of years ago. What's wrong with saying it's time to hang them up?

A guy can't have 1 tough fight without people calling for him to pack it in? Everyone was saying Wardley oughta quit after losing to Dubois too.

Thinking like that is why regular folks never achieve anything. They'd give up too easy at the first sign of difficulty.

I don't think the situations are comparable. I think last weekend showed us the writing is on the wall for Usyk. I would be happy to see those two last fights he's already promised, but he could've retired after Dubois 2 and I don't think many of would've held that against him.

[KiwiRider]

Why? He'll probably be 40 next time he fights, has done everything he needs to do in boxing and will get picked off by a younger fighter not fit to lace his boots a couple of years ago. What's wrong with saying it's time to hang them up?

A guy can't have 1 tough fight without people calling for him to pack it in? Everyone was saying Wardley oughta quit after losing to Dubois too.

Thinking like that is why regular folks never achieve anything. They'd give up too easy at the first sign of difficulty.

I don't think the situations are comparable. I think last weekend showed us the writing is on the wall for Usyk. I would be happy to see those two last fights he's already promised, but he could've retired after Dubois 2 and I don't think many of would've held that against him.

40 is the high risk zone for CTE. No one wishes that on him.
He also has a couple of niggling injuries, and at nearly 40 those aren't going to get any better.

[golden_labrador]

People calling for Usyk's retirement are being ridiculous.

Why? He'll probably be 40 next time he fights, has done everything he needs to do in boxing and will get picked off by a younger fighter not fit to lace his boots a couple of years ago. What's wrong with saying it's time to hang them up?

A guy can't have 1 tough fight without people calling for him to pack it in? Everyone was saying Wardley oughta quit after losing to Dubois too.

Thinking like that is why regular folks never achieve anything. They'd give up too easy at the first sign of difficulty.

you want them to achieve CTE

[gilgamesh]

I don't, but fighters that aren't Champions have oodles of tough fights and nobody bats an eye about that.

A Champion has a tough one once and everybody is clutching their pearls.

[Controversial]

If Peter Fury has been training Rico for 15 years I wonder why he’s never boxed seriously before?

[paultom]

I don't, but fighters that aren't Champions have oodles of tough fights and nobody bats an eye about that.

A Champion has a tough one once and everybody is clutching their pearls.

He's approaching 40, very wealthy, health intact and achieved everything, I'm sure many of the fighters you mention would call it a day in that situation

[maninthemiddle]

If Peter Fury has been training Rico for 15 years I wonder why he’s never boxed seriously before?

Why did he not have at least one ten rounder to “acclimatise” to the new distance and discipline? Thought it was crazy..even more so now as I feel if he had prepared appropriately with a couple of winning bouts I think he cud have actually done it! Why not fight any 2 from… Makmudov, Zhang, Hrgovic, Franklin, Huni, Clarke…?