His last fight was in July last year. I think it's time to announce the next fight. What is happening btw with names like Wilder, Ruiz or Verhoeven being mentioned as potential opponents? I would totally give him a pass for fighting an easy opponent for good money given he fought top guy after top guy but not with this inactivity. The division needs to move forward and he's turning into Tyson Fury, like he absorbed that greedy belly attitude after beating him.
We hear very little from team Usyk too, so what exactly is going on? Is he retiring? Btw, what is happening with the ordered fight vs Kabayel after the voluntary,grow a garden is he taking it (they surely can sell out any stadium in Germany for this, so 90K is realistic in Dortmund)?
I have a suspicion he's going to sign with Zuffa and fight Andy the Hut next and then look for a Luke Fury fight again and then fight Jake Paul in MMA and then retire.
The only hints we got is him wanting to fight in America and Ruiz and Zuffa seem like logical choices to me for this. The rest is me speculating on stuff he is said over the years.
What are your thoughts what our king is doing and is he full Tyson Fury mode right now?
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 25 Feb 2026, 21:54
by gilgamesh
I sincerely hope he signs to fight with Rico Verhoeven. I think that'd be a great fight.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 26 Feb 2026, 10:25
by Cyclops
He has every available option and is sitting back while his management work out the best possible deal for his next fight. He said Wilder and then Wilder immediately signed to fight Chisora, so why throw out names until someone is locked in?
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 26 Feb 2026, 10:41
by Ruthless-RKO
Cyclops wrote: ↑26 Feb 2026, 10:25
He has every available option and is sitting back while his management work out the best possible deal for his next fight. He said Wilder and then Wilder immediately signed to fight Chisora, so why throw out names until someone is locked in?
Keeps people talking.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 27 Feb 2026, 20:16
by Finkel
Verhoeven next
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 27 Feb 2026, 20:20
by goose 5
They should let him kick but Usyk only boxes.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 02:02
by Sendo Takeshi
goose 5 wrote: ↑27 Feb 2026, 20:20
They should let him kick but Usyk only boxes.
Nah, if he wants to get a payday, he is gonna do what he's told.
Same with mma fighters.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 05:53
by RuudOEN84
I think it's a fun fight,
It's the first time in history that a countryman of mine is fighting for a (HW) boxing world title (atleast one of the four big ones)
Verhoeven is not known for his boxing skills in kickboxing.
He has about as much chance to win as Jake Paul did against AJ.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 07:09
by Noxy
Who‘s he? What about Kabayel or Wardley.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 08:47
by Sendo Takeshi
Noxy wrote: ↑28 Feb 2026, 07:09
Who‘s he? What about Kabayel or Wardley.
One of the best kickboxers of all time.
Kabayel and Wardley can watch.
Noxy wrote: ↑28 Feb 2026, 07:09
Who‘s he? What about Kabayel or Wardley.
One of the best kickboxers of all time.
Kabayel and Wardley can watch.
Exactly, he’s from a different sport.
So was the guy who almost beat Fury and Rico is a better striker.
Not saying it's gonna be competetive, but it's a nice gimmick fight for the guy who did it all
One of the best kickboxers of all time.
Kabayel and Wardley can watch.
Exactly, he’s from a different sport.
So was the guy who almost beat Fury and Rico is a better striker.
Not saying it's gonna be competetive, but it's a nice gimmick fight for the guy who did it all
So was the guy who almost beat Fury and Rico is a better striker.
Not saying it's gonna be competetive, but it's a nice gimmick fight for the guy who did it all
I guarantee it's going to be competitive.
That's a bold statement. I'm too casual, when it comes to kickboxing. Why do you think that?
Sendo Takeshi wrote: ↑28 Feb 2026, 12:01
So was the guy who almost beat Fury and Rico is a better striker.
Not saying it's gonna be competetive, but it's a nice gimmick fight for the guy who did it all
I guarantee it's going to be competitive.
That's a bold statement. I'm too casual, when it comes to kickboxing. Why do you think that?
Rico is tough as all hell. The bigger man. The stronger man. The younger man, and a decorated Legend in his own right. He's not just a flavor of the month Combat Sports athlete, he's a dominant fighter.
He will have enough ring sense to know what he needs to do to have his best chance to win the fight. I don't think it'll be enough at the end of the day for him to win, but it'll be unmistakable that he's provided a competitive fight.
So was the guy who almost beat Fury and Rico is a better striker.
Not saying it's gonna be competetive, but it's a nice gimmick fight for the guy who did it all
I guarantee it's going to be competitive.
I'd be shocked if this is competitive. Usyk has world class skills that rival the all time greats
Sendo Takeshi wrote: ↑28 Feb 2026, 12:01
So was the guy who almost beat Fury and Rico is a better striker.
Not saying it's gonna be competetive, but it's a nice gimmick fight for the guy who did it all
I guarantee it's going to be competitive.
I'd be shocked if this is competitive. Usyk has world class skills that rival the all time greats
He is a world class operator indeed. It certainly wouldn't be the most surprising thing in the world to me if Usyk just thoroughly outboxed him, but I'm confident in what Rico can do here.
Usyk definitely won't half ass his preparation like Tyson Fury most likely did for Ngannou that's for sure.
I'd be shocked if this is competitive. Usyk has world class skills that rival the all time greats
Usyk definitely won't half ass his preparation like Tyson Fury most likely did for Ngannou that's for sure.
Well Fury has proven to not be the smartest of guys.
However the Usyk vs Verhoeven fight plays out. I hope people understand that for all Rico has done for Kickboxing. For the tremendous all time great fighter he's been, and never had the opportunity to make even half as much as what he's going to be making here.
He deserves this opportunity. He's more of a Legend in Kickboxing than Usyk is in Boxing. He's one of the all time greats in Combat Sports period, and I'm glad that the chance for him to be in a Crossover Megafight has finally happened for him.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 21:49
by SportsRatings
Verhoeven is great against stationary targets, who let him unload telegraphed shots to the dome. In the small pond of kickboxing he's a big fish but I see an Alex Dimitrenko career if he goes to pure boxing.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 28 Feb 2026, 21:57
by gilgamesh
SportsRatings wrote: ↑28 Feb 2026, 21:49
Verhoeven is great against stationary targets, who let him unload telegraphed shots to the dome. In the small pond of kickboxing he's a big fish but I see an Alex Dimitrenko career if he goes to pure boxing.
Alex Dimitrenko never fought for the Undisputed Title. By fighting Usyk he's already had a better Boxing career than Dimitrenko. Win or Lose.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 01 Mar 2026, 04:01
by 881073
Size: Rico easely wins, we are talking about an in shape 275 pounder vs an in shape 225 pounder (at most).
Stamina: Rico got the best stamina in the heavyweight division, I have never seen anyone with a better stamina in the heavyweight division and I'm willing to admit Usyk does have a very good stamina as well.
Please note that despite Rico is a kickboxer, even during kickboxing, he's doing a lot of boxing actually, especially in recent years.
Reaction speed: Usyk (by a lot!)
Accuracy: Usyk (by a lot!)
Skills: Usyk
Chin: I have never seen Usyk beïng rocked hard, I have seen Rico beïng rocked hard. I think they are pretty much equal, Rico just get's hit more often.
Experience: Usyk in boxing, Rico in fighting, both guys will not surrender, I think Usyk is better in reading a fight somehow.
KO power: Usyk got more, Rico usually overwelms his opponents over time and doesn't stop after 3 rounds. I can't remember seeing an unexpected KO from Rico. He's pretty much the opposite of Deontay Wilder in that.
Age: Rico is younger, but he too is clearly aging, he's not as flexible as he used to be.
Please keep in mind when looking at this fight of him, Jamal Ben Saddik is 2.05m Tyson Fury size.
Rico Verhoeven used to be Tyson Fury his sparrings partner before Tyson Fury fought Klitschko for the first time. Tyson Fury loved Rico for that at the time, because Rico was the only sparringspartner he could find that didn't stop after 2 minutes.
Rico at the time said he was absolutely flabbergasted by Tyson Fury his skills. He seriously struggled to even simply touch him at all while getting hit all over the place himself. Rico said he only kept going because he wanted the experience, he wanted to realise the difference between boxing at the highest level while beïng the champion of the world in kickboxing which he already was at the time.
That interview happened before the Klitschko fight, it was 2014 or 2015 or so, I can't find it back.
I expect Usyk to win, but I also expect the fight to be a lot more entertaining then most people expect.
It will NOT be a boring fight and I do love to see the fight.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 01 Mar 2026, 06:12
by joshj909
881073 wrote: ↑01 Mar 2026, 04:01
Experience: Usyk in boxing, Rico in fighting, both guys will not surrender, I think Usyk is better in reading a fight somehow.
Usyk reportedly has 350 amateur fights. I don't think Verhoeven has the experience edge other than specifically in kickboxing which is not relevant here.
881073 wrote: ↑01 Mar 2026, 04:01
Chin: I have never seen Usyk beïng rocked hard, I have seen Rico beïng rocked hard. I think they are pretty much equal, Rico just get's hit more often.
One of these guys has been rocked and KO'd multiple times. The other has never been visibly rocked. They are not equal.
881073 wrote: ↑01 Mar 2026, 04:01
Stamina: Rico got the best stamina in the heavyweight division, I have never seen anyone with a better stamina in the heavyweight division and I'm willing to admit Usyk does have a very good stamina as well.
Verhoeven has never fought more than 15 minutes. Usyk fights for 36 on a regular basis and is more effective in the later rounds. Usyk has the significant proven stamina advantage.
881073 wrote: ↑01 Mar 2026, 04:01
Rico Verhoeven used to be Tyson Fury his sparrings partner before Tyson Fury fought Klitschko for the first time. Tyson Fury loved Rico for that at the time, because Rico was the only sparringspartner he could find that didn't stop after 2 minutes.
As is Dave Allen and we all know that Usyk would win every second of every round against Allen. Allen himself has sparred them both which proves that sparring partners do not make you equal to the guy you're sparring. Verhoeven sparring with Fury means next to nothing other than him admitting he couldn't lay a glove on the guy that Usyk beat twice.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 22 Mar 2026, 14:45
by SportsRatings
Styles make fights, and that's the only thing that gives Rico a chance to make this interesting at all.
Joshua and Fury are the best giant HWs of the post-Klitschko generation, and before Usyk, the best HWs period. Usyk beat both of them twice. The idea that Rico is better than Joshua and/or better than Fury, coming straight out of kickboxing, is ridiculous. Based on that I expect him to look more robotic than Joshua at his worst and slower than Fury at his worst.
But again, styles make fights. I just have a hard time imagining his telegraphic style makes the fight interesting at all, other than him being a much bigger man, which we've already seen with Fury and Joshua.
Re: What is going with Usyk?
Posted: 22 Mar 2026, 17:08
by gilgamesh
SportsRatings wrote: ↑22 Mar 2026, 14:45
Styles make fights, and that's the only thing that gives Rico a chance to make this interesting at all.
Joshua and Fury are the best giant HWs of the post-Klitschko generation, and before Usyk, the best HWs period. Usyk beat both of them twice. The idea that Rico is better than Joshua and/or better than Fury, coming straight out of kickboxing, is ridiculous. Based on that I expect him to look more robotic than Joshua at his worst and slower than Fury at his worst.
But again, styles make fights. I just have a hard time imagining his telegraphic style makes the fight interesting at all, other than him being a much bigger man, which we've already seen with Fury and Joshua.
The fact that he's coming from Kickboxing could mean that his style would be more unorthodox and hard to time than a fighter who's always boxed. I know Kickboxers definitely focus more on power punching than point scoring in their respective sport, and I think Rico would be wise not to deviate too much from what he's always done. He's not winning a decision here obviously.
