Outside Source
Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title last weekend in Giza, Egypt. Verhoeven dictated most of the fight before he was dropped by Usyk late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven got back up, Usyk followed up with a flurry, which was enough for the referee to stop the fight with a second left in the round.
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Apart from the controversial stoppage, the scorecards also felt “fishy” to Verhoeven. The bout had open scoring, where the scorecards were revealed to the fighters after every four rounds. Despite evidently leading in the early rounds, Verhoeven was slightly surprised to find out that the scorecards were even after the first four rounds. When the scorecards read as even after eight rounds, Verhoeven felt something was off. Verhoeven believes the open scoring even affected his performance. With the scorecards being even after eight rounds, Verhoeven felt that he needed to put his foot on the gas to prove himself, as he was a kickboxer challenging a boxing champion.
Scored Through a Boxing Lens?
“There were open scorecards, and after four rounds we got scorecards,” Verhoeven said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “We were like, ‘Hey, we’re even.’ I was like, ‘Hmm, ok.’ I felt like it was at least 3 to 1, but ok, we’re even, that’s fine. Then we got the scorecards again after another four rounds…. And still we were even. It started to feel fishy because I felt like I was winning these rounds. I was working more, I was getting hit less and I was touching him more… So maybe I have to push it a little bit more; it’s getting looked at through a protective boxing lens. So maybe, because I’m an outsider, I have to put in that extra work to be even more convincing.”
When the fight was stopped, two scorecards still had it even, while Verhoeven was leading on the third.
Rico Verhoeven explains how the open scoring affected his mindset during the Usyk fight:
“There were open scorecards and after 4 rounds, they said we’re even. I was like, ‘Hmm, ok.’ I felt like it was at least 3 to 1, but ok, we’re even, that’s fine.
Then we got the scorecards… pic.twitter.com/neFl83JiXk
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 26, 2026
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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