Boxing champion Alexander Usyk defeats Rico Verhoeven, but struggles. Germany’s rising star Kabayel immediately challenges the Ukrainian.
Boxing champion Alexander Usyk successfully defended his world title at the Pyramids of Giza with great difficulty, paving the way for a showdown with Germany’s rising star Agit Kabayel. The Ukrainian heavyweight star defeated kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven via technical knockout in the eleventh round.
Kabayel immediately challenged Usyk to a world title showdown right at the ring. “I’ve been waiting so long for this fight. I’m ready, and I think Germany is ready for this fight. Let’s do it in a German stadium. I think that’s what all the fans want,” said Kabayel, wearing a Germany jersey. “Let’s do it, no problem,” Usyk replied: “I’m ready, brother.”
With his 25th victory in his 25th professional fight, the 39-year-old Usyk retained his WBC world championship belt. His other titles from the WBA and IBF were not on the line in this voluntary title defense. However, Kabayel has his sights set on all three titles; as the WBC interim world champion, he is entitled to a world title fight against Usyk and was present in Giza as a spectator ringside.
World title fight against Usyk on the horizon
As the Bochum native recently revealed, he is aiming for a fight this coming fall. The organizers of Riyadh Season, a high-profile event series from Saudi Arabia, have reportedly signaled to him that they would “be happy to come to Germany and finance the fight against Usyk.”
For Kabayel, it would be the biggest fight of his life. He could become the first German heavyweight world champion since Max Schmeling.
Meanwhile, the clear favorite Usyk unexpectedly struggled against Verhoeven, who is an idol in the kickboxing scene. Verhoeven had only fought one regular boxing match prior to this, but kept the fight close for a long time. In the eleventh round, however, the Dutchman went down after an uppercut from Usyk. Verhoeven continued, but the referee stopped the fight.
“I thought the fight was stopped too early,” Verhoeven told DAZN. However, he said he was “super proud of my performance, and hopefully the boxing world will accept me as a boxer.” Usyk called it a “tough fight.”
