Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC title against former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The card, branded “Glory in Giza” and promoted by Matchroom, streams worldwide on DAZN pay-per-view, priced at $59.99 in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom, according to ESPN. It is the first professional boxing event staged at the ancient landmark. The main card begins at 2 p.m. ET, with main-event ring walks expected at approximately 5:48 p.m. ET and 10:48 p.m. BST. What follows is a fight-by-fight breakdown of the lineup.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven, Heavyweight, WBC Title
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) makes his first appearance since stopping Daniel Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium in July 2025, a result that returned him to undisputed status. The 39-year-old Ukrainian holds the WBC, WBA, and IBF belts, but only the WBC championship is on the line. The WBA and IBF declined to sanction the bout because Verhoeven is unranked. The IBF nonetheless granted Usyk an exception to compete in what it classified as an unsanctioned contest, with conditions attached: should Usyk lose, the IBF title would be declared vacant, while the WBA has indicated it will maintain Usyk as champion regardless of the outcome.
Verhoeven enters with a professional boxing record of 1-0, his lone bout a second-round stoppage of the winless Janos Finfera in 2014. The 36-year-old Dutchman held the GLORY heavyweight title for more than 11 years before vacating it in November and carries a kickboxing record of 66-10 with 21 knockouts. He stands 6-foot-5, weighs roughly 270 pounds, and is trained for the fight by Peter Fury, who cornered Tyson Fury for the 2015 victory over Wladimir Klitschko. Verhoeven has framed his crossover as a stylistic problem Usyk has not faced. “I’m bringing something different to the table that he hasn’t seen before,” he said. “He’s dissected the sport of boxing like no other, but he doesn’t know about a kickboxer who will be boxing.”
Usyk has described the matchup as a voluntary defense on his own terms after years of mandatory and unification commitments, telling reporters that “size doesn’t matter” while calling Verhoeven “a dangerous guy.” The consensus among observers runs heavily in the champion’s favor. Usyk is roughly a 30-1 favorite, with the over/under on rounds completed set at 5.5. On his podcast, Teddy Atlas credited Verhoeven’s kickboxing pedigree but dismissed his prospects in a boxing ring, noting that the Dutchman’s high guard and upright stance could leave him open to Usyk’s combinations. The full breakdown, including Atlas’s remarks, appeared in Boxing Insider’s fight-week coverage.
Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Alem Begic, Vacant WBO Super Middleweight Title
The co-feature pairs Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1, 18 KOs) with the unbeaten Alem Begic (29-0-1) for the vacant WBO super middleweight title. Sheeraz, 26, fell short in his only previous world title attempt, a draw at middleweight, before moving up in weight. Begic, a 39-year-old German, challenges at world level for the first time. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.
Jack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov, Vacant WBA Welterweight Title
Jack Catterall (32-2, 14 KOs) and Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) meet for the vacant WBA “regular” welterweight title. The 32-year-old Catterall, a southpaw from Chorley, England, is ranked No. 1 by the WBO at the weight and is coming off an 11th-round stoppage of Ekow Essuman in November. He chose the matchup rather than wait on a bout with WBO champion Devin Haney. Giyasov, a 31-year-old Uzbek and former Olympic silver medalist, is the WBA’s top-ranked contender and last fought in November, stopping Mark Urvanov in four rounds. The WBA approved the vacant-title bout after elevating Rolando Romero to Super champion.
Frank Sanchez vs. Richard Torrez Jr., Heavyweight
Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs), the 33-year-old Cuban known as “The Cuban Flash,” faces unbeaten American Richard Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) over 10 rounds. The bout reschedules an IBF heavyweight eliminator originally set for March 28 and postponed after Sanchez sustained a knee injury. Torrez, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, steps up in class against the more experienced Sanchez in a contender-versus-prospect matchup that carries weight in the division’s title picture.
Mizuki Hiruta vs. Mai Soliman, WBO Junior Bantamweight Title
Mizuki Hiruta (10-0), named The Ring’s female fighter of the year, makes the seventh defense of her WBO junior bantamweight title against Egyptian-born Australian Mai Soliman (10-1) over 10 rounds. Hiruta, 29, won the belt in just her fourth professional bout and has remained undefeated. Soliman fights in front of what amounts to a home crowd.
Undercard
The preliminary portion features light heavyweight Daniel Lapin (13-0) against Benjamin Mendes Tani (9-1) over 10 rounds, with regional title belts at stake. Basem Mamdouh (10-2) meets Jamar Talley (6-0) at cruiserweight, and the remaining bouts pair local and international prospects: Mahmoud Mobark against Michael Kalyalya, Omar Hikal against Ali Sserunkuma, and Sultan Almohammed against Dedy Imprax.
