By: Sean Crose
Perhaps none of us should be surprised by what happened in Egypt tonight. Oleksandr Usyk, the unquestioned King of the heavyweight division, got the fight of his life against Dutch kickboxer and virtual boxing novice Rico Verhoeven against the backdrop of that country’s Great pyramids. It was supposed to be a novelty fight, but Verhoeven took all the novelty out of it and turned it into a real throwdown. Much credit goes to the Dutchman who thoroughly rose to the occasion, despite the fact that he ended up losing by a controversial 11th round stoppage.
He was something on Saturday, Rico was. He reminded me strangely enough of those old films of Jack Dempsey with this crouch stance, his bobbing and weaving, and his effective aggression. He seemingly landed more than Usuk until the very end when the lineal champion dropped and then stopped his determined Dutch foil. That stoppage was reminiscent of Larry Holmes’ stopping Ronaldo Snipes back in 1981. That particular stoppage featured an all time great champion and a challenger who exceeded expectations drastically. Sound familiar? Snipes however was a talented boxer. This was Rico’s second time as a conventional boxer. They may have things in common, but Saturday’s stoppage was more jaw-dropping than Holmes’ stoppage of Snipes back in ’81.
Of course this isn’t the first time an established and famous boxer has been in a frightening situation with a newbie. Tyson Fury got dropped and almost got beaten by Francis Ngannou a few years back. And let’s not forget the pathetic image of a beyond washed up Evander Holyfield getting busted by an MMA fighter. That wasn’t shocking however as everyone knew Holyfield was all done. The aging great was well beyond his prime and likely shouldn’t have been back in the ring to begin with.
Saturday was quite different. Usyk may not be a young man anymore, but he certainly isn’t burned out as a fighter. It seems, however, that his best days are now behind him. It’s hard to fault a man for almost losing to the likes of Rico when he bested the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony, Joshua, and Daniel Dubois twice a piece. Usyk has some kind of resume, And as I mentioned earlier, was entitled to take a supposedly easy fight. This fight didn’t end up being so easy, however. Sure Usyk won but he certainly didn’t look good doing it.
Which leads to the thesis that one of these days probably sooner rather than later a major fighter like Usyk or someone else of his ilk is going to lose a major novelty bout. Boxing can only play with fire so many times, and it’s only a matter of time before an MMA fighter or a way over the hill former boxer or a YouTuber or what have you is going to best an established boxer at his own game. That friends will not be a good night for the sport of boxing. Don’t expect these novelty fights to stop, however. There’s something too much money involved for anyone to put an end to them. Plus, many boxers still see such endeavors as easy work.
If one is going to fight in a novelty bout, one should take Anthony Joshua’s lesson for handily dealing with a tough and talented but inexperienced opponent. When he faced Ngannou after Fury did he absolutely, positively beat the hell out of the man. Ngannou ended up flat on his back. Why? Because Joshua took things seriously. Boxing needs to grow up and realize that sometimes a complete underdog can conquer a reigning King.
Again, it’s only a matter of time.
