Usyk stops Verhoeven in controversial title defense

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Oleksandr Usyk avoided massive embarrassment and an upset after pulling off an 11th-round technical knockout victory over inexperienced boxer Rico Verhoeven on May 24, 2026, at the Giza Necropolis in Cairo, Egypt.

After getting outpointed by Verhoeven, who entered only his second professional boxing fight after a legendary kickboxing career, Usyk smelled blood with only 25 seconds left in the 11th round, sending the Dutch star to the canvas with a vicious right uppercut.

However, a controversial sequence of events took place in the seconds after official match referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight with exactly one second left before the 11th-round bell rang.

Verhoeven was given extra seconds to recover after he was ordered to return to his corner and get his mouthpiece back, but Usyk relentlessly pounced on him, sending a flurry of punches that forced Lyson to officially call the bout.

Much of the post-fight buzz focused less on Usyk’s come-from-behind win and more on the premature stoppage by Lyson, who received major backlash from several boxing analysts and Verhoeven’s camp.

Former world champion Sergio Mora didn’t hold back on what he saw, calling Lyson’s decision to call the TKO win with only one second left “embarrassing.”

Four-division world champion and current WBO junior welterweight king Shakur Stevenson also didn’t agree with the sudden stoppage.

“The fans got robbed. The referee helped for sure, but who’s to say Usyk wasn’t going to get him out of there? He had plenty of time,” Stevenson said.

Verhoeven was bound for one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history after schooling the more experienced Usyk in the first 10 rounds.

The kickboxing superstar wisely banked on his size and reach advantage, tagging Usyk with surprising, snappy jabs that kept piling up on the judges’ scorecards.

Before the 11th round began, Verhoeven was clearly ahead on all the ringside judges’ scorecards, but Usyk needed only a single round to reverse his fortunes and extend his undefeated streak to 25 wins without a single loss.

Despite the major controversy, Usyk still held his head high and said, “I just box, you know. It was my right uppercut, boom. Thank you, God. Jesus Christ, thank you.”

On the other hand, Verhoeven expressed his frustration over what transpired, knowing that he was really close to shocking the world if he had clinched the upset win.

“It sucks,” Verhoeven said.

“Urgh! I’m here to stay! I think I showed the world that I can definitely box. Even as a kickboxer, they told me, who is this guy? But I think that was already a crazy performance.”

Fight fans, what did you think about the stoppage at exactly 2:59? Were you robbed of what could’ve been a thrilling 12th-round showdown?