Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven faced off for the first time ahead of their heavyweight boxing title fight on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza. Usyk will defend his WBC heavyweight title, streaming exclusively on DAZN pay-per-view.
Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven had a good look at each other in their first staredown ahead of their heavyweight boxing title fight.
The two fighters stared at each other for almost two minutes straight, without breaking eye contact, following the conclusion of their press conference on Tuesday to promote their title bout. Usyk defends his WBC heavyweight title against Verhoeven on May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The bout streams exclusively on DAZN pay-per-view.
You can watch their cold staredown in the video below:
Usyk (24-0) looks to maintain his perfect professional record. Most recently, Usyk competed in July 2025 when he defeated Daniel Dubois by fifth-round knockout. The bout was his first since he won back-to-back superfights over English star Tyson Fury.
Verhoeven (1-0) reenters the world of boxing for the first time since 2014. The 36-year-old Dutchman is who many believe to be the greatest heavyweight kickboxer in modern history. Verhoeven (66-10 kickboxing) in November announced he'd stepped away from GLORY Kickboxing and was pursuing MMA, with rumors of the UFC as his potential next move.
However, during testimony in the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC, chief business officer Hunter Campbell explained the promotion had made a move on Verhoeven, but he elected to do boxing instead.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Video: Oleksandr Usyk, Rico Verhoeven cold in first faceoff
The fight is scheduled for May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Oleksandr Usyk is defending his WBC heavyweight title.
The fight will be streamed exclusively on DAZN pay-per-view.
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