Oleksandr Usyk managed to retain his heavyweight world title in a close and controversial fight against Rico Verhoeven. The match took place in front of the pyramids as a title defense, where Verhoeven, in only his second professional boxing bout, largely dominated the fight and seemed to be leading on the scorecards until the penultimate round.

Usyk landed a crucial uppercut towards the end of the round, causing Verhoeven to fall. Although Verhoeven got up before the count, the referee decided to stop the fight with just a second left after another series of punches. Usyk praised Verhoeven for his performance, acknowledging the tough and good fight. Verhoeven expressed disappointment in the stoppage, believing he could have continued until the end of the round.

The fight saw Verhoeven making an early impact with a strong right hand within the first 30 seconds. Usyk gradually found his rhythm but faced challenges from Verhoeven’s aggressive approach, particularly in the early rounds. Despite Verhoeven’s resilience and effective body shots, Usyk managed to showcase his power with well-timed uppercuts and combinations.

As the match progressed, Verhoeven continued to press forward, landing significant shots, while Usyk displayed his skills with precise punches. The highly contested battle culminated in a dramatic turn of events in the penultimate round when Usyk unleashed a flurry of punches, ultimately leading to a contentious stoppage by the referee, Mark Lycett.

In the undercard bouts, Hamzah Sheeraz claimed the WBO super-middleweight world title with a second-round knockout victory over Alem Begic. Jack Catterall secured a portion of the WBA welterweight world title by outpointing Shakhram Giyasov, setting up a potential future clash with ‘super’ champion Rolly Romero. Additionally, rising American heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr suffered a knockout defeat to Frank Sanchez, who earned a shot at a world title with an impressive second-round stoppage.