WBC Title Defence Scheduled for Usyk Amid Sanctioning Body Hesitancy

WBC heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is set to defend his title against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in a 12-round main event scheduled for Saturday, May 23. The bout will take place at the Giza Necropolis in Giza, Egypt, with the main event ring walk projected for approximately 5:48 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast as a pay-per-view on DAZN.

The regulatory landscape surrounding the contest remains restrictive, with only the WBC title on the line. The WBA, IBF, and other major sanctioning bodies declined to sanction the fight as a title bout, citing Verhoeven’s status as an unranked boxer. This decision isolates the championship status to a single governing body, despite Usyk holding unified titles across multiple organisations.

Verhoeven, a former Glory kickboxing champion, enters the ring with a professional record of 66-10 in kickboxing. He has competed in only one professional boxing match, a second-round knockout victory over Janos Finfera in 2014. His background is primarily rooted in combat sports outside of boxing, where he has also remained unbeaten in mixed martial arts.

Usyk, 39, is widely considered the heavy favourite in the contest. Betting markets from FanDuel list Usyk at -2300, requiring a $2,300 risk to win $100, while Verhoeven is priced at +1480. The over/under for total rounds completed is set at 5.5, reflecting expectations of a relatively short contest.

SportsLine combat sports editor Josh Nagel has released analysis for the card, backing the Under 5.5 rounds at -112. Nagel, who has served as a boxing analyst for over 20 years, noted that newcomers crossing into championship-level boxing rarely succeed. He highlighted Usyk’s technical discipline and refusal to underestimate opponents as key factors in the expected outcome.

Usyk’s professional record stands at 24-0 with 15 knockouts. He has held the unified heavyweight championship since 2025 and previously held undisputed titles in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. His most recent victory was a fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois last July, a bout in which he retained the WBA (Super), WBC, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight championships, along with the IBF crown.

The event draws attention to the structural barriers facing athletes transitioning between combat sports. While Verhoeven’s kickboxing pedigree is significant, the lack of ranking in boxing has limited the institutional support for the bout. The fight proceeds under WBC auspices alone, with the broader boxing community observing the outcome as a test of cross-disciplinary viability.