00:00Oleksandr Yusik needed 32 minutes and 58 seconds to secure the 25th victory of his professional
00:06career, but it was far from an easy night for the heavyweight champion. Yusik struggled for
00:11long stretches against kickboxer Riko Verhoeven on Saturday in Giza, Egypt, as the massive
00:17underdog pushed the undefeated Yusik far more than expected. Yusik appeared uncomfortable at
00:22times dealing with Verhoeven's size, physicality and unorthodox style, raising questions about
00:28whether the performance was a sign of age beginning to catch up with the champion or simply the
00:32challenge of facing a non-traditional opponent. On the undercard, Hamza Shiraz won the vacant WBO
00:38super middleweight title and immediately thereafter criticized Canelo Alvarez once more. However,
00:44with Alvarez facing Christian Bili on September 12, his attention now turns to what realistic
00:50options he could have as he begins his reign at 168 pounds. Meanwhile, Jack Catterall finally
00:57captured a world title, claiming a secondary WBA welterweight belt in his debut at 147 pounds.
01:04Catterall's sharp boxing and composure made him appear to be a legitimate threat in the division,
01:09regardless of the status of the belt. And with full WBA champion Rolando Raleigh Romero saying he's
01:16retired, other intriguing opportunities might be available for the newly crowned titleholder.
01:21Andreas Hale, Nick Parkinson and James Reagan break down the performances and look ahead
01:26to what might come next for the three winners. What happened to Yusik? The undefeated, three-time
01:33undisputed champion and ESPN's number two pound-for-pound boxer Yusik faced Verhoeven in the
01:39ring. He had done everything that anyone could have asked in his pro boxing career by dominating the
01:44cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. But rather than ride off into the sunset on top,
01:49Yusik opted to do what I want to do, by fighting Verhoeven against the backdrop of the pyramids in
01:55Giza, Egypt, on Saturday. That decision nearly ended in disaster as Verhoeven, who carried a
02:01two-inch size advantage, gave Yusik all he could handle until a key round 11 saw the champion escape
02:07with a controversial stoppage. Verhoeven gave Yusik problems all night, leveraging his size and
02:12unorthodox movement to not allow Yusik, the calculated ring tactician, to get into his rhythm as
02:18he has for his entire career. Although the judges had the fight close entering round 11, those watching
02:24saw a massive underdog come close to pulling off arguably the biggest boxing upset since Buster
02:29Douglas defeated Mike Tyson in 1990. It took Yusik summoning his incomprehensible will, and a
02:36perfectly landed uppercut, to put Verhoeven down before ransacking him with power punches to earn a
02:41knockout with one second left in the round, a stoppage that will be debated for a long while.
02:46But what's done is done, and Yusik is still undefeated. Everyone has a bad night, but was
02:52this due to his opponent or was it a sign that age is finally catching up to Yusik?
02:57Editors picks. Yusik avoids huge upset with dramatic stoppage. Andreas Hale. Boxing results.
03:05Oleksandr Yusik stops Rico Verhoeven in round 11. James Reagan and Andreas Hale cadaral wins
03:12secondary WBA belt, wants Romero. James Reagan. Yusik's place in the pound-for-pound conversation
03:20will almost certainly be up for debate now that a kickboxer, who had only one pro boxing match back
03:25in 2014, pushed him to the limit. At 39, Yusik has been extraordinary during his recent run at
03:32heavyweight, toppling the best fighters the division had to offer in Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel
03:38Du Bois and demonstrating the innate ability to adjust and find a way to win. He did the same
03:43against Verhoeven but was completely out of sorts for two-thirds of the fight. It could easily be
03:48that farther time is ringing the doorbell as Yusik looked relatively flat-footed and sluggish for much
03:54of the fight. He lacked the movement, reflexes and speed that had become a trademark of his superb
03:59career. The fact that he struggled this much with a kickboxer is telling. Verhoeven, however,
04:05is an additional issue that perhaps many individuals do not take into account.
04:10Yusik has spent his entire career playing chess by figuring out his opponents and then staying two
04:15or three moves ahead. He's used to fighting boxers, but Verhoeven, 6'5", 259 pounds, who was big,
04:23strong and unorthodox, presented a unique puzzle, and his success against Yusik might have had more to
04:29do with his technique than Yusik's age. Verhoeven's constant faints and movement troubled Yusik.
04:35They were unlike anything Yusik has had to deal with as a heavyweight. Verhoeven threw a lot of
04:40punches at Yusik, but he didn't appear to be in danger of being knocked out. He was careful and
04:46set traps for the uppercut in the first half of the fight, but realized that Verhoeven wasn't going
04:51to fall for it as easily as he thought. However, in round 11, Yusik finally demonstrated the one
04:57thing that sets him apart from other fighters. His determination to win. Rather than wait for
05:02Verhoeven to fall into his trap, Yusik went on the assault and eventually landed the uppercut he had
05:08been seeking by simply willing it to happen. Due to the fact that two judges had the fight even and
05:13a third had Verhoeven ahead by one round, the knockdown probably would have given Yusik the
05:18victory. The 10-8 round would have pushed Yusik ahead on the scorecards with round 12 remaining.
05:24But what everyone will remember is the controversial ending of the fight,
05:28which saw Yusik clobber Verhoeven as the seconds ticked off the clock until referee Mark Lyson waved
05:33off the fight. The reality is that Yusik would have probably finished a badly damaged and fatigued
05:39Verhoeven in the final round. But he didn't get the opportunity, and we didn't get to see it play
05:44out that way. But the conclusion will leave more questions than answers regarding Yusik's future.
05:50Whether it was Yusik's age or Verhoeven simply being better than expected will be debated,
05:54but Yusik will live to fight another day, and those questions will be answered in his next fight.
06:00Andreas Hale
06:01I'll say a minute.
06:01Youancy
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