Rico Verhoeven Reveals X-Factor in Stunning Near Upset of Oleksandr Usyk

Rico Verhoeven knows that what he did against Oleksandr Usyk defied all expectations. However, in his mind, it was always how he thought the fight would go.

Despite what everybody said about him before the fight, Verhoeven expected nothing less than the competitive fight he gave the lineal boxing heavyweight champion. The former GLORY Kickboxing superstar singled out the biggest key to his picture-perfect game plan during a recent appearance on the Inside the Ring Show.

"If you look at all the heavyweights, they all did the same, and I did something different — moving around," Verhoeven said. "All the heavyweights he fought were standing straight in front of him. How am I going to stand right in front of a cruiserweight that came up?

"That's 100 percent going to be faster than I am? That's a better boxer than I am? Doesn't make any sense if I'm going to try and out-box him by standing right in front of him. So what I did is I brought it straight to him."

Rico Verhoeven explains what he did differently against Oleksandr Usyk 🥊#InsideTheRing | Latest episode available on DAZN 📺 pic.twitter.com/7yi9iHOeKX
— InsideRingShow (@InsideRingShow) June 2, 2026

Verhoeven out-landed Usyk 113 to 112 in the 11-round fight, according to Compubox. His constant movement and stance-switching had Usyk looking uncharacteristically sluggish, leading to fans questioning everything from his mental state to a potential injury.

Usyk has only had nine fights at heavyweight, including the bout with Verhoeven. The former kickboxer gave him arguably his most competitive fight in the weight class, despite Usyk facing Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois a combined six times.

What is next for Rico Verhoeven after Oleksandr Usyk loss?

Since the loss, Verhoeven has filed an appeal to overturn the official result due to the referee stepping in and stopping the fight after the bell had sounded to end the round. The 37-year-old is using his newfound fame to campaign for a rematch, but he also seems positioned to move on.

Verhoeven had said before the fight that he planned to box more than just once and wanted to potentially end his career in the sweet science. The Dutchman has other options, including a potential return to kickboxing or a move to MMA, but his fight with Usyk only appeared to augment his interest in boxing.

In Verhoeven's ideal world, his boxing career continues with the Usyk rematch, but any potential that fight has will have to wait a while. Usyk was recently ordered to defend his WBC belt against interim champion Agit Kabayel, a fight that Turki Alalshikh has already said is his plan for the Ukrainian before attempting to remake the Verhoeven matchup.

Boxing awaits Usyk and Verhoeven's next moves.

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