Oleksandr Usyk, the unbeaten unified heavyweight champion, go defend im WBC title against Rico Verhoeven, na former kickboxing world champion, for the Pyramids of Giza for Egypt. This fight na unusual one, both for the location and the opponent wey Verhoeven be.
Verhoeven, wey be Dutchman wey dey 37 years old, get only one professional boxing fight before now, wey happen for 2014. He knock out a low-level opponent that time. Now he dey face one of the best heavyweights for boxing history. If he win, e go be one of the biggest upsets for the sport.
Usyk, wey dey 39 years old from Ukraine, dey carry near 17-year winning streak. He don beat heavyweights like Tyson Fury two times before. For im last fight, he knock out Daniel Dubois. For this fight, Usyk weigh 233 pounds, wey be im heaviest ever. Verhoeven weigh 259 pounds, so he get big weight advantage.
Many boxing experts dey predict say Usyk go win. Some say e go stop Verhoeven between round four and eight, others say round five to seven. Eddie Hearn say Usyk go win whenever he want. But some people dey talk say Verhoeven fit cause problem because of im size and power.
The fight go happen for Saturday, May 23, 2026. BBC go carry live text commentary from 22:00 BST for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds. This fight dey unusual, but e go be interesting to see if Verhoeven fit pull off the upset or if Usyk go continue im dominance.
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