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  • 11 hours ago
Glory in Giza: Usyk v Verhoeven
Transcript
00:00:00All right, it is time for the big one.
00:00:02Alexander Usyk versus Rico Verhoeven.
00:00:04Here is a tale of the tape for both.
00:00:06Not too much difference in age.
00:00:08Alexander Usyk, the older man by two years.
00:00:10Rico Verhoeven, 37.
00:00:12Rico has advantage in height and weight and reach.
00:00:16How will he use them?
00:00:18The ring, the WBC and WBA World Heavyweight titles are on the line.
00:00:23Let's throw it down to the greatest of them all, Mr. Michael Buffett.
00:00:30Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the glory at Giza.
00:00:35It's been a great night of world-class and world-championship professional boxing for your entertainment.
00:00:43But now, it's the final bout of the evening.
00:00:46The moment we have all been waiting for.
00:00:50So, let's get this party started!
00:01:16Thousands of years ago, a warrior was born
00:01:20who knew no defeat.
00:01:24Master of the ring.
00:01:29His name etched into the walls of temples.
00:01:39But from a distant land, another warrior came forth,
00:01:46bearing courage in his heart and fire in his hands.
00:01:53He declared his challenge.
00:01:56A battle history shall write.
00:04:30Show us what you got when we don't instantly drop.
00:05:09We'll see you next time.
00:06:30And now making his entrance to the ring, Oleksandr Usyk.
00:06:54Well, here comes the best boxer on the planet.
00:06:58Oleksandr Usyk, the unified heavyweight champion of the world, ready to put on a show tonight
00:07:03at the Showcase of the Immortals.
00:07:06One of the all-time great stepping into the most iconic stage boxing's ever seen.
00:07:10The pressure is on the same team, the pressure is on the same breath as Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas.
00:07:18Incredible, an absolute master, an absolute master, a magician, a man made to fight.
00:07:23He has a different puzzle in front of him this evening, but so much talent.
00:07:30I mean, I mean, what a fighter he's been, he's been the integrity of the sport for so long.
00:07:37He really has.
00:07:38He's been the integrity of the sport for so long.
00:07:40He really has.
00:07:40He's been the integrity of the sport for so long.
00:07:51He's been the integrity of the sport for so long.
00:07:52He really has a great fight against Daniel Dubois.
00:07:53Will he walk right through Rico Verhoeven?
00:07:56Or will the king of kickboxing give him the fight of his life?
00:08:03There he is, one of the best to ever do it.
00:08:08Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk.
00:08:11Look at that form.
00:08:13That tells you everything you need to know.
00:08:15Look at that setting, the stage set for something special.
00:08:21And he zoned in.
00:08:22He really is, because whatever he knows of a certain favorite he is,
00:08:26it's still a fight to him now.
00:08:27He's in that ring, he's in his home, and he'll want to put on a show tonight.
00:08:38There's no such thing as an off week for Oleksandr Usyk.
00:08:42He says he's taking this as seriously as he did.
00:08:44Any fight against Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.
00:08:48Look at the odds there.
00:08:4931% believe in Rico.
00:08:52I think in a weird way, there's more pressure on him right now,
00:08:54because losing to Tyson Fury is one thing.
00:08:58Losing to Rupert Van Hoeven in a boxing match is a totally different prospect.
00:09:03The odds are floating around 30 to 1 right now for Usyk.
00:09:06And you saw, of course...
00:09:11...
00:09:11...
00:09:14...
00:09:27Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we will honor our host nation and the challenger and champion
00:09:33with their respective national anthems.
00:09:36Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem for Egypt.
00:10:11The National Anthem
00:10:41Ladies and gentlemen, to honor the challenger,
00:10:45the national anthem for the Netherlands.
00:11:11The National Anthem
00:11:41Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem for Ukraine.
00:11:53The National Anthem
00:11:59Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem for Ukraine.
00:12:41The National Anthem
00:12:55Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem for Ukraine.
00:12:56The national anthem for Ukraine.
00:13:00The national anthem for Ukraine.
00:13:04The national anthem for Ukraine.
00:13:36Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem for Ukraine.
00:13:54The national anthem for Ukraine.
00:14:00The national anthem for Ukraine.
00:14:09eat. This contest is recognized by the Bible of Boxing, the ring, and sanctioned by the
00:14:16World Boxing Council, President Mauricio Suleiman, the World Boxing Association, Hilberto Jesus
00:14:23Mendoza, Jr., President, and the Saudi Boxing Federation. The Chairman of the General Entertainment
00:14:30Authority is the President, His Excellency, Turki Al-Asheh. And now, ladies and gentlemen,
00:14:39the three judges assigned to score this fight at ringside, from Switzerland, Fabian Guggenheim,
00:14:46from Spain, Manuel Oliver Palomo, and from Canada, Pascual Procopio. And inside the ring,
00:14:53in charge of the action at the bell, World Championship veteran referee from the United
00:14:58Kingdom, Mark Lyson. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the officials are at ringside, and they are
00:15:06ready. The fighters are in the ring, and they are ready. So for the sold-out thousands in
00:15:16attendance, and the millions watching around the world on DAZN, from the pyramids of Egypt,
00:15:23Ladies and gentlemen, let's get ready to rumble!
00:15:36Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing black, trimmed with gold and
00:15:42orange, his official weight, 258.7 pounds. This international combat sports legend, from 2013,
00:15:522013, until a few months ago, when he vacated his title, was undefeated in the combat ring.
00:15:59Ladies and gentlemen, the challenger, the former undisputed kickboxing heavyweight world champion,
00:16:08from Holsteren Netherlands, the king of kickboxing, Riccardo Rico Verhoeven!
00:16:25And across the ring, fighting out of the red corner, wearing burgundy, trimmed with gold,
00:16:32weighing in at 233.3 pounds. Since capturing Olympic gold in 2012, he now has a perfect professional
00:16:41record. 24 victories in 24 fights. Fifteen big wins by knockout. He's captured two division championships.
00:16:52Ladies and gentlemen, from Kyiv, Ukraine, the former undisputed cruiserweight world champion, now the ring.
00:17:02WBC, WBC, WBA, universally recognized, linear undefeated heavyweight champion of the world,
00:17:13Alexander Elson!
00:17:40OK, you're shorter and a bit higher there, we've got anything on top of that belt is good, OK?
00:17:46OK, gentlemen, you're boxing for the heavyweight championship of the world.
00:17:49I've already spoken to you both.
00:17:51You know what I expect.
00:17:52Stay professional, obey my commands, and most of all, protect yourself at all times.
00:17:59God bless you both.
00:18:02Two heavyweight champions from different worlds with the ancient pyramids behind them.
00:18:08Can Rico pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of combat sports,
00:18:13or will Usyk beat, batter, and bury him in the Egyptian desert tonight?
00:18:2012 rounds for the heavyweight championship of the world.
00:18:26Alexander Usyk, Rico Verhoeven, here we go!
00:18:33Straight away, who's going to find the rhythm with their jab first?
00:18:37How is Verhoeven going to approach this?
00:18:38Is he going to try and be the boss, the aggressor, or will he try and wait for Usyk to
00:18:45lead and try and counter?
00:18:46I can't see that being the option.
00:18:50I feel like he needs to be the boss, try and be the aggressor here.
00:18:53A lot of footwork and movement from Rico, and a straight right hand on the button!
00:18:58Yeah, good bit of movement there from Van Hoeven there, just pushing him back with a jab,
00:19:01and then right hand over the top, and I think it's imperative to have a good start.
00:19:04He'll fill him with confidence, and he'll need that.
00:19:11A chance of Rico here ringside.
00:19:14A lot of Dutch fans making the trip to the desert.
00:19:18Usyk just having a look, trying to work out his man.
00:19:22Look at the size of the legs of Rico Verhoeven.
00:19:25Can those legs bounce like that for 12 rounds, Barry?
00:19:28Well, I would probably say no, but he might not need to.
00:19:31I think it's important from that, you know, he's rushing Usyk, no, he doubles the jab,
00:19:37but he brings his feet in fast, and because he's such a big guy,
00:19:40he's forcing Usyk back his straight line for a minute.
00:19:43Got the head movement as well.
00:19:46There's a lot of static target, cannot afford to be against Usyk.
00:19:52Wait for Usyk to really uncork that left hand.
00:19:55In kickboxing, oh, did I have to get back in a kickback from Rico?
00:20:01Clash of heads, perhaps.
00:20:02Right?
00:20:04I was going to say, in kickboxing, Rico switches stances quite often.
00:20:07Not sure if he's going to do it here in the Sweet Science.
00:20:11It seems like he's not as square on as I've seen him in the kickboxing ring.
00:20:17A bit more side-on, like the way he's got his chin down, shoulders rounded.
00:20:22And he looks so much bigger than Usyk.
00:20:25Massive.
00:20:26It's a good positive start here.
00:20:31Well, we know that Usyk figures fighters out and then takes over.
00:20:36Right now, seems to be downloading the information.
00:20:39What do I exactly have in front of me right now?
00:20:42The six foot five, 256 pound freak of nature.
00:20:50Great shot.
00:20:52Are you impressed so far, Derek?
00:20:54That was really a good one.
00:20:55Committed to that right to the body, didn't he, Barry?
00:20:57Lovely shot.
00:20:57Well, whenever you can see, he's winning this round.
00:21:03Yeah, let's see a bit more of that for Usyk.
00:21:06The faith, the right hook as well.
00:21:07Look at the movement of a hoover.
00:21:08It's all to his left-hand side, constantly.
00:21:23All in all, considering what we thought we might see,
00:21:27Rico gets an A-plus-plus performance for round one.
00:21:41Hi, sir.
00:21:43Any surprises?
00:21:43No, sir.
00:21:44You are.
00:21:45Now what I want you to do is to come up and down, yeah?
00:21:50Move your head and come down and move the things, yeah?
00:21:54Stack your body with a jump, yeah?
00:21:56Yeah?
00:21:57Come up and down as well, Rico, yeah?
00:21:59That was a good start, wasn't it, Verhoeven?
00:22:18Showing no respect at all.
00:22:20A bit of variation to his work.
00:22:22Looking big, as Barry mentioned.
00:22:23And that right to the body was a lovely shot.
00:22:25Good start.
00:22:27And what was good from Verhoeven there is when he threw a shot,
00:22:30he committed to his attack.
00:22:33Peter Fury in the corner of Rico Verhoeven.
00:22:36They've been training together for about 15 years, Darren.
00:22:39What's Peter Fury fighters, what are they known for?
00:22:42I mean, hard working, technically sound,
00:22:45and mentally very strong as well.
00:22:47And movement as well.
00:22:49Very, very good footwork.
00:22:50We're seeing that here, aren't we?
00:22:51I must say, again, it's all to the left-hand side of Usyk.
00:22:55But now, well, he throws that right hook.
00:22:57Better from Usyk there.
00:22:59Nice uppercut than a straight left hand.
00:23:01And here's where he can maybe maul him a little bit.
00:23:04You guys thought this might be a good strategy.
00:23:06It's just the physical presence, put your weight on him.
00:23:08But I mean, he hasn't needed that in the first round.
00:23:10He was pushing him back with straight punches.
00:23:12There's no massive jeopardy there for Usyk,
00:23:15but he took my surprise over third down first round.
00:23:19Usyk seemed to be just kind of in first gear right now.
00:23:22There's a right hand, but Rico really forcing the issue.
00:23:25And he's tucking up well when he comes forward.
00:23:29Kind of hooking the shots in round the side,
00:23:32working the body, then leans on, nullifies the work of Usyk coming back.
00:23:39Yeah, it's been a good start.
00:23:41Rico, a kickboxing record, 66 and 10, 27 straight victories.
00:23:48Probably doesn't even remember the last time he lost.
00:23:50It's been so long.
00:23:52So he's landed on the lubricate there to Usyk.
00:23:54And I don't know a lot of loads of weight on it, but still a good shot.
00:23:57And the hood is not even bothered.
00:23:59He fights straight back to the right hand.
00:24:03Is he tempting fate, though, guys, being this aggressive?
00:24:05No, I think this is the right move, it is.
00:24:08Nice uppercut from Usyk, and then Rico answers back.
00:24:12Yeah, that's important, though, he does answer back.
00:24:14He doesn't give any space for Usyk to make a second phase of attack.
00:24:18That uppercut's certainly the shot for Usyk.
00:24:20I can see how rounded he is, almost leaning over that front foot
00:24:24when he comes forward, Verhoeven.
00:24:30You feel like Usyk is locked in right now, Barry?
00:24:32I think he's been taken back a little bit by that really good start there.
00:24:37So he's had to land a little more frequent than this one,
00:24:40and he's had a much better round.
00:24:42I think he's shot by the physical strength here of Verhoeven.
00:24:47Maybe he's just waiting for Rico to slow down a little bit.
00:24:49Yeah, possibly with the feints with the hands and feet.
00:24:54He's just working out the man, but when he leans on...
00:24:58He looks like an absolute unit in there, he really does.
00:25:03Verhoeven's a little bit too static, I feel.
00:25:06He's more lateral movement, he'll get on the balls of his feet a little bit.
00:25:10Perhaps waiting too long.
00:25:11Yeah, but he's giving Verhoeven a tag of the hits, isn't he?
00:25:16To aim for.
00:25:20Anytime Rico gets a close hand, he lets his hands go.
00:25:25And he looks quicker than what I've seen of Verhoeven in the past.
00:25:30I think he knows that he needs to be quick in this contest, he's worked on it.
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00:26:12there's a lovely right hand there from phoho when they're just again with an
00:26:16in close, he was just a physical strength, just a little push to release, and then clock
00:26:21him, he was with a lovely right hand, and he felt that, and he wasn't in any danger,
00:26:25but he felt that, and I think he's really shocked by the, not only the physical strength
00:26:29there of the Hoover, but also, I think his boxing ability.
00:26:33When Conor McGregor crossed over to boxing and fought Floyd Mayweather, Conor was very
00:26:37successful early, won a couple of rounds before Floyd Mayweather started to take over after
00:26:42he figured him out, you sense that might be happening here guys?
00:26:45It could possibly be happening, but I think, he's having more success than McGregor did,
00:26:51I think, for me, because Floyd was sort of half playing around about that.
00:26:56And the big thing here is, can he sustain, can he keep this going?
00:27:00As we say, massive, doesn't he, can he keep this moving?
00:27:02That's a beautiful right to the body, I would say it was a little low.
00:27:05Yeah, Rico acknowledged that, wants to keep it a fair fight.
00:27:11Of course, that harkens back to the controversy surrounding, Dubois dropping Usyk in Poland,
00:27:18what was deemed a low blow.
00:27:19Look at Mike Carpenter, he's got a 2-0 for the big Dutchman.
00:27:25Oh!
00:27:28Another shot from Rico.
00:27:31They just stood a little tall there, and a chin higher.
00:27:33I'll tell you what guys, this is not how he kickboxes, he's never this aggressive in the early rounds.
00:27:38I'm very surprised with this strategy, but it's a winning formula so far.
00:27:45And it's the right move, we did say that to me, just in the preview, just now, I think you're
00:27:48gonna rush him and take that risk.
00:27:50But I don't think he has to rush him, he's rushing him with his attacks, but they're, they're relatively smart,
00:27:55but they're straight punches down the line.
00:27:56Do you know what, I think there's a bit of variation to the work, you know, every now and again
00:27:59he'll creep forward like he does now.
00:28:01And again, Rico, heavy hands on Usyk.
00:28:07I think Usyk thought, we all thought, when he's down to those uppercuts, punches that he might not be able
00:28:12to see, that he might back him up.
00:28:14And that hasn't happened as yet.
00:28:16There's a nice right to the body for Hovind, back on Usyk with a nice left hand.
00:28:22Another right for Usyk.
00:28:23A big response from Usyk there with the left hand.
00:28:30He's gonna get some nuts and movement in the play here, Usyk.
00:28:33He's not fighting as much as he used to.
00:28:35You know, usually it's hard for other fighters to figure Usyk out.
00:28:39Is Usyk having a hard time figuring this guy out?
00:28:42I don't think he's able to put the arms here from Hovind as well, that's a bit of a striker
00:28:45for him.
00:28:47They're not just thick, they're long.
00:28:50And now Rico feeling himself, staying on his toes.
00:28:53I'm just wondering, can he keep this pace up in the later rounds?
00:28:56I think he looks at you a moment ago there and just find out a jab about Hovind.
00:29:00It looked like a look away shot.
00:29:07The variation on it was a nice counter one-two that from Usyk.
00:29:11Good footwork.
00:29:17Usyk has scored up.
00:29:18It looked like he blocked those punches.
00:29:22And that's where he can throw the upper part as Volta.
00:29:24When he throws the hooks, then screw the shot through the middle.
00:29:29More offensive now, isn't he, Usyk?
00:29:31Oh, good shot there from Verhoeven.
00:29:36All right, let's hear how Alistair Overeem is seeing things.
00:29:40Yes, Rico is fighting a perfect fight.
00:29:43He's using his weight.
00:29:44He's throwing combinations off of the clinch.
00:29:48He's, yeah, surprisingly but beautifully at the same time winning this fight.
00:29:53Dominating this fight.
00:29:54Yeah, I think a lot of people are, I wouldn't say in awe of what's happening, but a bit surprised.
00:30:00Is there any chance right now, Darren, that Usyk's playing with his food a little bit, just giving the fans
00:30:05a show here until he starts to dominate?
00:30:07Possibly.
00:30:08Or, as you said, could be collecting data, having a look, still trying to work out his man.
00:30:12You feel at any moment he will turn the screw.
00:30:15I see a little bit there.
00:30:16He was a bit more offensive, wasn't he?
00:30:18Interesting.
00:30:19Good positive start, Barry.
00:30:20Yeah, sorry, Darren.
00:30:21Sometimes when you're not expecting the fight that you're having, it takes you a while to get your mind closed
00:30:26into him.
00:30:26I think that's what's happened to Usyk here.
00:30:28But whatever he's doing, we've got to compare to this guy.
00:30:31Yes.
00:30:32Over what he's doing.
00:30:33And what he's doing is spot on.
00:30:34He's punching long, he's using his physical strength, and he's possibly winning the fight.
00:30:39Well, remember Tyson Fury had all kinds of trouble with Francis Ngannou in the early rounds and even got dropped.
00:30:44Right now, could very well be 3-0 for Rico Verhoeven against the best boxer in the world.
00:30:58Seems like, no matter what happens from here on out, I think Rico's shown enough to say, hey, he's got
00:31:03the goods.
00:31:04Yeah, he really has.
00:31:05Surpassed everyone's expectations already.
00:31:09He has to look further than a moral victory.
00:31:11He's got to try and capture this and shock the world.
00:31:15He's trying to nullify and stop and confuse Usyk with that lead hand.
00:31:19He just sort of taps it out.
00:31:20Then he'll fire in that right hand as he did there.
00:31:22And another right hand, and Luzik's chasing the cat around the ring.
00:31:29It's the variation.
00:31:31Look at, you know, a moment ago he was on the back foot now.
00:31:33He's on the front foot.
00:31:34Now leaning on.
00:31:36And there's a bit of wasted energy there with throwing those hands so fast.
00:31:40And there's nothing on them.
00:31:41But the leaning on Usyk is very important.
00:31:44But what that does as well, it sends, you know, something to the judges.
00:31:50That you're busy, you're working, you're looking confident.
00:32:13And he knows.
00:32:14He's a fantastic finisher, Usyk.
00:32:19That's the moral lead that Rico's put together.
00:32:22About to come crashing down now here in the fourth.
00:32:25He's got his legs back underneath in the middle here, Behuven.
00:32:32Well, he's not playing with his food now.
00:32:34No, he's eaten it.
00:32:36Oh, good shot.
00:32:40Look at this to him.
00:32:43He's done well to recover there.
00:32:45Of course, this is a 12-round fight.
00:32:50He kickboxing.
00:32:51Rico's championship fights were five three-minute rounds.
00:32:54But I mentioned earlier, he did recently compete in a one-night eight-man tournament where he fought three three
00:32:59-round fights in a single night.
00:33:04The angles there, the shots here from Usyk.
00:33:09He's just flowing a lot better now, Usyk.
00:33:11Not loading up with the shots.
00:33:14That's Usyk now.
00:33:16He's out of here, a good shot.
00:33:22He was coming forward there from Usyk.
00:33:26Not the gun shield out.
00:33:27He needs to find different angles here, Oleksandr and Usyk.
00:33:31Stay switched on over a couple of times there.
00:33:33He had his left hand over.
00:33:34He got caught with a couple of right hands.
00:33:42Much better round four here from the champ.
00:34:02Yeah, better from Usyk.
00:34:04More offensive.
00:34:05More belief.
00:34:07Finding the target a lot easier there.
00:34:09Yeah, that's a great shot.
00:34:10That is just a lovely bit of work.
00:34:12We've seen that a few times over his career.
00:34:14I tell you what, though.
00:34:15He was standing on his legs found Hoover, but he recovered very, very quickly.
00:34:20Showing a good chin, very good stamina.
00:34:22And even though he looks tied in the corner, look over to Usyk's corner.
00:34:26He's no spring chicken there either.
00:34:27Yeah.
00:34:28He's puffing.
00:34:36So is this the beginning of the end for Rico after maybe winning the first three rounds?
00:34:42This man back in a few weeks, Anthony Joshua.
00:34:45He's probably just as big, if not a bigger a favorite in his fight as Usyk was tonight.
00:34:50Yeah, he really is.
00:34:53It's good to see him back.
00:34:54Everything he's beautiful.
00:34:55That fight available on DAZONE as part of your ultimate subscription.
00:34:59Round five here between Rico and Usyk.
00:35:03A lot of people didn't think it'd even go this far.
00:35:05What was your official predictions, guys?
00:35:08Well, that Usyk wins anyway he wants to.
00:35:10Quite comfortable.
00:35:11And then stops him within five rounds.
00:35:14That's the truth of it.
00:35:15Yeah, but around six, seven, four mid rounds.
00:35:19But it hasn't been the fight we've thought.
00:35:21Not at all.
00:35:22And you've got to go credit there.
00:35:23Massive.
00:35:23Massive.
00:35:24It's him.
00:35:25He's the most.
00:35:27Just loaded up with that right hand for Usyk.
00:35:29Might as well step back on the left from Usyk.
00:35:34Nice left there from Usyk.
00:35:36Rico just coming forward methodically.
00:35:38Trying to just walk through those punches.
00:35:41Really leaning on.
00:35:42Let's bring in Mike Coppinger with the scorecard.
00:35:44Yeah, Todd, Rico from Usyk is incredibly impressive.
00:35:47He's got an active jab.
00:35:49He's moving his head.
00:35:50He's aggressive.
00:35:51He's confident.
00:35:52Usyk did a lot better in that fourth round, but Riko's still in this fight, and no matter what happens
00:35:56now, we're all impressed by Riko.
00:35:59Yeah, I think, you know, he's ahead, but you feel the tide is shifting here, it's changing.
00:36:06Usyk, center of the ring, as I say, more active with her hands.
00:36:11I see him just step to his right-hand side a little bit and meet.
00:36:14But Hoover is moving constantly to his left-hand side with that right hook.
00:36:18You guys talked about all the fates that Riko was going to have to react to, that Usyk was going
00:36:22to give him.
00:36:24Riko's a faint machine in this fight.
00:36:25But also, he's constantly doing something with his hands, he's twitching with his shoulders, constantly moving him up and down
00:36:30and that.
00:36:31I mean, he takes the focus on that off Usyk a little bit slightly, and then when he does attack,
00:36:35he can't read it as good as he normally does.
00:36:38Again, you asked a question about Peter Fury, what does he implement, and I think, you know, the non-punching
00:36:43activity,
00:36:43with the hands always fainting, you know, that's something he's put into Hoover Hoover for sure.
00:36:48Riko Verhoeven said he used to spar Tyson Fury and get destroyed every time, but he came back for more
00:36:53and more,
00:36:54and then Tyson kept inviting him to his training camp because he knew just how tough Riko was,
00:36:59and that he would always come forward, and that's what he's showing us here tonight.
00:37:14I'll tell you one thing, Usyk's not willing to trade with him.
00:37:20Too smart, isn't he, for that?
00:37:23Well, when you're as big as Riko is, you don't want to trade.
00:37:26I don't know who you are.
00:37:34That's the first punch he's thrown for a while there, Usyk.
00:37:37He's still moving freely, isn't he, Hoover.
00:37:40There are a lot of movements, though.
00:37:42It is a lot.
00:37:42And if the fight goes long, the hit will pass. Sure.
00:37:48This might be the most competitive round we've seen this fight. Double jab from Riko.
00:37:57You'll have to see Coppinger's scorecard here in a little bit.
00:38:00He might have given that one to the kickboxing king.
00:38:10This is the first punch.
00:38:22Do you want to get the head off?
00:38:24Do you want to get the head off?
00:38:26Yeah, yeah.
00:38:28You're doing it?
00:38:30You're doing it?
00:38:31You're doing it?
00:38:33You're doing it?
00:38:35You're doing it?
00:38:37There you go.
00:38:39Throw lights and then come behind him.
00:38:42Second phase attack.
00:38:43Rest on.
00:38:44Rest on.
00:38:45Rest on.
00:38:46Rest on.
00:38:47Rest on.
00:38:48Rest on.
00:38:49Rest on.
00:38:52Well, it may not quite be
00:38:54kissed the cross necklace time
00:38:57for Usyk like he did against Tyson Fury guys
00:38:59but how concerned should Usyk fans
00:39:01be right now?
00:39:02I don't think there's any cause of a concern
00:39:05right now.
00:39:06It's just you feel there's more to come.
00:39:09You feel he will start with the tempo.
00:39:11It's a good start to this sixth round
00:39:13from the Ukrainian.
00:39:14But it does need to start to happen.
00:39:19What a performance so far
00:39:20from Rico Verhoeven.
00:39:23I don't know anyone
00:39:24who picked him to win this fight outside
00:39:26of his friends and family and even they probably
00:39:28had some real questions about it.
00:39:32He does that well.
00:39:33He does that well when he leans on.
00:39:35I tell you one thing as well.
00:39:36I think Usyk might be struggling with our weight
00:39:38that's carrying here.
00:39:39He's a lot heavier than he normally is.
00:39:42And the movement, the lateral movement certainly
00:39:45the sway inside the side
00:39:46is so much less than it ever has been.
00:39:49Pretty similar stats
00:39:51when you look through round five.
00:39:53He's interested in a lot more
00:39:55jabs landing from Usyk.
00:39:58I love the way when Rico
00:39:59gets Usyk against the refs.
00:40:01Not only does he put his weight on him, Barry,
00:40:02but he's throwing punches and scoring points.
00:40:04And even if they're not landing
00:40:07the impression that he's always busy
00:40:08and that's important for the judges' eyes
00:40:10in rounds that might be scrappy
00:40:12he'll give it to the guys who's doing them all work
00:40:14whether it's effective or not in the end.
00:40:18And again, Rico marching forward
00:40:21landing punches.
00:40:23Again, changing up
00:40:25the pace of the fight as well.
00:40:26He's on the back foot now. Look, trying to push Usyk
00:40:28back.
00:40:30He has success with that right to the body, doesn't he?
00:40:32There is a fake there for Usyk.
00:40:35I mean, Barry
00:40:36by any metric, Usyk doesn't look
00:40:38like Usyk tonight. Is that because
00:40:40maybe he's struggling himself or
00:40:41it's Rico making him look like this?
00:40:45You've got to say
00:40:46it's Rico, haven't you? I mean, he looks a little bit
00:40:48he doesn't look as in shape as he normally is
00:40:50Usyk, but that's, you can make that
00:40:52you can use that as an excuse.
00:40:55You knew how to fight
00:40:56you gotta get fit for the fight, you gotta get ready
00:40:58for the fight, you gotta win the fight.
00:40:59You mentioned it, so that leaning
00:41:01on, he really does push on it
00:41:03or throw some heavy shots and
00:41:04something that I don't think he's been used to
00:41:07Usyk.
00:41:09Well, Rico is a workout
00:41:11fiend, he never cuts corners
00:41:13in sensational shape
00:41:15at all times. And right
00:41:17now, he still looks good and has that
00:41:20movement, constant non-stop
00:41:21movement that he started the fight with
00:41:23and you see a couple more landed jabs.
00:41:25A nice little long left hook there as well
00:41:27there from Verhoeven.
00:41:30Still nice and supple
00:41:32on his feet.
00:41:33Yeah, I thought by this sort of time
00:41:35that the spring would have gone out
00:41:37the step of Verhoeven and it hasn't.
00:41:43And now it's Rico's back against the ropes.
00:41:48He just looks lethargic, isn't he?
00:41:51Usyk, Usyk.
00:41:52He looks un-Usyk like, for sure.
00:41:56If you've never seen a fight before,
00:41:57there's no way you'd think
00:41:58he's the number one pound-for-pound fighter
00:42:00in the world. As we bring back in
00:42:02Alistair Overeem, did you think Rico was gonna
00:42:04make it this far?
00:42:06As a matter of fact, I thought it would be
00:42:09the later rounds, but I thought Usyk would
00:42:10be more dominant. So Rico is fighting
00:42:12a perfect fight, he's using his weight,
00:42:14he's using his combinations, he's using his
00:42:16footwork, he's not standing still
00:42:19and, yeah, scoring a lot more points
00:42:21than I initially thought.
00:42:22Well, Alistair, earlier tonight you said if Rico
00:42:24moves a lot with those big legs,
00:42:26he's gonna get very tired in the later rounds.
00:42:29Do you still believe that?
00:42:30Uh, I didn't say that, that was
00:42:32just somebody else, I think Eddie Hearn.
00:42:34I know that Rico does a lot of strength
00:42:36workouts, he does a lot of stair work,
00:42:37I know his legs are very strong, and I've actually
00:42:40never seen Rico gas in the glory fight, so...
00:42:43Well, my apologies for putting your words
00:42:45in your mouth, Alistair.
00:42:46Either way, Rico is shining bright right now
00:42:50here next to the pyramids in Egypt.
00:42:55Seconds out, round seven.
00:43:01Round seven, scheduled for twelve, and I think
00:43:04anyone who's watching right now thinks Rico
00:43:06is probably winning this fight, including
00:43:09our official score, or our unofficial
00:43:11scorer, Mike Coppinger. How do you
00:43:12have it through six full rounds, Mike?
00:43:15Yeah, Todd, so far
00:43:16I have Usyk winning just the one
00:43:18rounds, and I think Rico's
00:43:20been really impressive, and really his
00:43:22defense too, I mean, he's making Usyk
00:43:24miss a lot in there, his jab has been on point,
00:43:27and I think lost in all this, it's
00:43:28really been an entertaining fight.
00:43:31Indeed, here in round seven,
00:43:33and we're getting to a point,
00:43:34gentlemen, if Rico wins one or two
00:43:36more rounds in a row, my math isn't great,
00:43:38Usyk's gonna need to knock down to win this fight.
00:43:40I mean, it's incredible, it really is, I mean,
00:43:43it's all this non-punching activity,
00:43:45I mean, it's stopped Usyk letting his hands go,
00:43:47he's got to be far busier.
00:43:50And there's a lot of
00:43:51kickboxers watching right now who are
00:43:52licking their chops about, hey, I'm gonna
00:43:54come to boxing, I'm gonna fight the champ,
00:43:56I can hang with him.
00:43:58Nice little looping right hand there from Verhoeven.
00:44:01Usyk's gotta start moving
00:44:02off his jab,
00:44:05off Verhoeven's jab,
00:44:06when he throws it, he's gotta start spinning on the outside,
00:44:08he's getting some work in the play.
00:44:10It was uppercut through the middle.
00:44:16Slash from Usyk.
00:44:20What Alistair said there,
00:44:22doesn't look like there's any signs of him slowing down,
00:44:25does it? Verhoeven,
00:44:26looks fresh in there still, there's a spring in the step.
00:44:30I'm surprised with the,
00:44:32with the mindset
00:44:34and the ability to
00:44:36work his opponent out.
00:44:38He's not read this movement
00:44:39of Verhoeven.
00:44:41Constantly going to his left.
00:44:44And now Usyk switching
00:44:45stances to southpaw.
00:44:47He just can't figure this guy out.
00:44:51And there's one!
00:44:52To the knees of the champ!
00:44:55I tell you, he's gotta get his head down here, Usyk.
00:44:58And now Usyk gonna open up a little bit.
00:45:01Maybe he's sensing what we are all seeing.
00:45:05This is remarkable.
00:45:07It really, really is.
00:45:14Rico said, listen, this is no fairytale.
00:45:17This won't be a miracle if I beat him.
00:45:20This will be hard work, dedication
00:45:21and a lot of discipline.
00:45:23Yes, I've been fighting kickboxing
00:45:25for almost two decades.
00:45:27However, I've been training
00:45:29as the boxer for 15 years
00:45:31under the tutelage of Peter Fury
00:45:33and I'm here to showcase my skills.
00:45:38Those skills
00:45:39are really working right now.
00:45:47This is incredible!
00:45:49Usyk doesn't have an answer
00:45:51for any of this at the minute.
00:45:53He's stationary, he's easy to hit.
00:45:56And another round for Verhoeven.
00:45:58And a good right hand
00:45:59right before the bell as well.
00:46:00And Usyk kind of throws his hands up
00:46:02to say, uh, what's going on here?
00:46:06And gentlemen, I'll ask you
00:46:07what is going on here?
00:46:08I tell you what, he's...
00:46:10I think...
00:46:11Well, we're not going to say
00:46:12Usyk's out of shape,
00:46:13but he's not...
00:46:13I haven't got his head on,
00:46:14he should be doing better.
00:46:15But Van Hoeven's boxing brilliant.
00:46:19Constantly jittery with his shoulders,
00:46:21hard to breathe,
00:46:21punching long with his long arms,
00:46:23heavy right hand.
00:46:24But when he throws his punches,
00:46:25he commits to the attack.
00:46:27And it's working.
00:46:28You're in the forward position
00:46:29at your right angle.
00:46:30Yes, sir.
00:46:31And look, throw light,
00:46:33throw light to the head,
00:46:35step in again,
00:46:36and work your body.
00:46:36Yes, sir.
00:46:37Look, single shots,
00:46:38you've got time to recover and move.
00:46:40Yes, sir.
00:46:41Throw your light shots
00:46:41and come in behind them.
00:46:43Yes, sir.
00:46:44But...
00:46:44kick your foot...
00:46:48Come on!
00:46:51Could that setting we just see there
00:46:53be the place for one of the biggest upsets
00:46:55we've ever seen?
00:46:57A look up to the gods for Oleksandr Uzzica.
00:46:59Almost looks like he's in a trance
00:47:01or something in there.
00:47:03Not sure what is going on.
00:47:05Maybe he's being mesmerized
00:47:06by Rico Verhoeven
00:47:09in his second professional boxing match.
00:47:12Guys, if he wins this fight,
00:47:13he'll be the first fighter in the history of the sport
00:47:17to win a world title in his second professional fight.
00:47:20And also, you've got to think,
00:47:21the fighters that couldn't beat Uzzica.
00:47:24That's the thing,
00:47:25that they couldn't beat him.
00:47:26And then this guy just walks into the sport.
00:47:30And obviously the master of what he does,
00:47:32of course, in his sport.
00:47:33But he walks into the sport
00:47:34and beats our champion.
00:47:36But even if this version,
00:47:37if you were to see this version
00:47:38in the past
00:47:39of a Verhoeven fight,
00:47:40you'd say he has no chance
00:47:41against Uzzica.
00:47:42But the unpredictability
00:47:44of the way he's fighting in there,
00:47:47and the way he's leaning on,
00:47:48and that physical presence
00:47:49has been incredible.
00:47:53I'm still just waiting for Uzzica
00:47:55to turn it on.
00:47:56You know, we've seen so many fights
00:47:57over the years
00:47:57where a guy's losing every round
00:47:59and then, boom.
00:48:04Uzzica, obviously,
00:48:05he does not feel...
00:48:06That's right hand!
00:48:08Everything smelling like roses for Rico!
00:48:12And another right hand!
00:48:13He's the champion of Uzzica!
00:48:17This is absolutely phenomenal!
00:48:22What a great effort this is!
00:48:26When will,
00:48:27all will Uzzica wake up?
00:48:30The standard bearer
00:48:31for upsets in boxing history
00:48:33is Buster Douglas
00:48:34over Mike Tyson.
00:48:35Guys, this wouldn't be
00:48:36too far behind now!
00:48:37I'll tell you what,
00:48:38he looks like a...
00:48:39He looks like a fighter...
00:48:40He doesn't like the weight
00:48:41has made the weight wrong
00:48:43when they're really
00:48:44lethargic
00:48:44and they can't get going.
00:48:47But that you can use
00:48:48as an excuse
00:48:50because
00:48:50he doesn't have to make weight.
00:48:52I just think he can't
00:48:53breathe this river,
00:48:54he's a devil!
00:48:55the hoover!
00:48:57But you know,
00:48:58Rico still cannot afford
00:49:00to make one mistake
00:49:01because Uzzica
00:49:01will capitalize.
00:49:02Think about all the hundreds
00:49:03of amateur fights
00:49:04he's had,
00:49:05the undisputed run
00:49:06at cruiserweight,
00:49:07the undisputed run
00:49:07at heavyweight.
00:49:08He's seen almost every
00:49:10type of style imaginable,
00:49:12but he can't figure out
00:49:13this stuff.
00:49:14But Uzzica's hitting
00:49:15with good shots.
00:49:16And except for that
00:49:17a few rounds ago
00:49:18when he wobbled in,
00:49:19all the other shots
00:49:20have bumped off the hoover.
00:49:21That was a good one.
00:49:27He's rushing him
00:49:28every time,
00:49:29he's so clever that is.
00:49:30Using that massive size
00:49:31there you go.
00:49:32And Uzzica's fighting back
00:49:33when he's fighting back
00:49:34having to move back
00:49:35without moving forward
00:49:36into the shots.
00:49:37And he's on the chest
00:49:38isn't he?
00:49:39Before he can even
00:49:40get the shots off.
00:49:42More pressure now,
00:49:44more intent from Uzzica.
00:49:45Rizzo's back
00:49:50ready to reach
00:49:51and Mashlane
00:49:52And Rico
00:49:53ate those shots
00:49:54and turned around.
00:49:55Smart.
00:49:56Very very smart.
00:49:57Eiko,
00:49:58I love his friends.
00:50:00My name's behind him.
00:50:00Mr Harper.
00:50:01Megan with his practice.
00:50:03Harper!
00:50:04I think, I won't get it.
00:50:18I don't know whether you're coming.
00:50:25It's up to 5.
00:50:27By the way he is like, we can get it because we don't like the body again or the body
00:50:31again.
00:50:32I mean, I can't actually believe I'm seeing this. This is remarkable, it really is. I mean, we're waiting, as
00:50:40you said, you feel like Usyk at any minute is going to burst into life, but it hasn't happened yet.
00:50:45I mean, it was a good ending to the round from Usyk, but this effort, this performance from Verhoevenberry has
00:50:50been remarkable.
00:50:51It really has, and I think tactically he's very, very good, not just physically. I mean, the way that when
00:50:57Usyk attacks him, he fires back and he jumps on him, and he suffocates that space, and does not Usyk
00:51:02any momentum to do any more work?
00:51:07Second out, round nine.
00:51:11All right, we are heading into round nine. We'll see Mike Coffinger's unofficial scorecard in just a minute, but guys,
00:51:16I can't believe I'm about to say this.
00:51:19Alexander Usyk might need a knockout, or at least a knockdown, if he's going to win this fight.
00:51:27Am I, am I, am I, am I, am I, am I, am I calculations correct, or am I just...
00:51:30We're, they're speechless, it's madness, if that's the case.
00:51:33Let's look at Mike's scorecard, there you have it.
00:51:37Mike, you're, you're lost for words.
00:51:40Yeah, look, I mean, like Barry said, the tactics, Peter Fury's done an amazing job here, putting Usyk on the
00:51:46back foot, and Rico Verhoeven, this has been incredibly impressive, already far more impressive, in my opinion, than anything in
00:51:53God or Conor McGregor did.
00:51:55Usyk still has to score a knockdown, or a knockdown.
00:51:59Incredible stuff, and you can see again, Rico having success when he turns things physical.
00:52:04He just gets really close, and just fires the shots into head and body.
00:52:09It was a nice wrap that he threw as well for Hoover, stabbed it into the body of Usyk.
00:52:13You know, there was a big controversy a few weeks ago, when the WBC said, you know what, hey, yeah,
00:52:18this is for the heavyweight championship of the world.
00:52:20Many people said, what, a guy with a 1-0 record?
00:52:23This is, this is ridiculous.
00:52:25You can't put the heavyweight title on the line.
00:52:27Well, it is ridiculous, because he hadn't earned his shot.
00:52:29That's, that's the point.
00:52:31Not that he's not good enough, he earned his shot to get there, but he's shown he's good enough.
00:52:36I mean, Usyk, I never thought I'd say this, but his feet have been awful.
00:52:41Really bad.
00:52:43Sitting confidence from Verhoeven as well, just switch it to Southwaite, but it's all for us now, leaning on, nullifying
00:52:50the work.
00:52:50But Usyk, throw in shots again to the body really well.
00:52:57All right, guys, I've just been told that in the arena, they're doing open scoring, and that they have the
00:53:03score right now, 76-76.
00:53:06Mike Coppinger, your thoughts?
00:53:08That's according to Mauricio Suleiman of the WBC.
00:53:10I mean, that, that's crazy.
00:53:11That's not really reflexive of what's going on here.
00:53:13I mean, I think Usyk's won two rounds at most.
00:53:15And, look, Usyk's the legend, and he's either the first or second best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound,
00:53:21but he's not winning this fight right now, or even.
00:53:25Well, maybe the four of us have it completely wrong, and they're right.
00:53:29That's, that's best if I'm Usyk.
00:53:30There's some faints.
00:53:32I'm gonna come in with the jab.
00:53:33But then, what we don't usually see is that there.
00:53:36He lands a good shot, then he got caught with one.
00:53:38Usually defensively so sound, Usyk.
00:53:4430 seconds to go here in round nine.
00:53:48Rico surpassing all expectations so far.
00:53:52While Usyk does not look like himself.
00:54:07Rico switched to southpaw.
00:54:10A good shot.
00:54:21A good shot.
00:54:23Go, go, go, go!
00:54:23So this is a big leap.
00:54:24If it works, it can't be able to reach the ground.
00:54:25It can't help with it.
00:54:26But there will be a lot of routes.
00:54:28Yes.
00:54:29Yes.
00:54:30You're more loose with your shot.
00:54:31Yes.
00:54:32When you're fainted and you went down to the body, you have major success.
00:54:34Yes.
00:54:35Yes.
00:54:36So, faint.
00:54:36Get behind your jab if you lose.
00:54:38Yes?
00:54:40move your head come in look down to the body because look the level in round eight yeah
00:54:46so now we've got to start winning these last rounds yeah but don't make mistakes
00:54:51don't tire yourself and look don't jump around on your feet step
00:54:58let's go chico you gotta work okay
00:55:0010 seconds
00:55:05well there doesn't seem to be any panic or any rah rah speeches in the corner of alexander
00:55:11usick right now do you think there should be darren i think he needs to increase the
00:55:15i think he knows knows what he needs to do he always starts to round positive on the fox foot
00:55:20just about sustaining again staying switched on as well he's been caught with shots that
00:55:24he wouldn't usually get caught with i think that's the biggest point is not so much what
00:55:29what he's doing is after he does the work and sort of switching off and getting caught by a big
00:55:35guy
00:55:35who's rushing it
00:55:39rico just keeps marching forward complaining that maybe rico caught him with an accidental elbow
00:55:44the other got the right idea there from music on the back foot
00:55:55he's right in front of us here isn't he verhoeven and you can see how much he really does lean
00:56:00on
00:56:00usick well win or lose the amount of respect that rico has earned here tonight is immeasurable
00:56:12he's just not able to get on the outside there is he he's trying to trying to move his feet
00:56:16around but the hole was just going with him
00:56:41very what should he be doing right now that he just isn't what he should be doing from the
00:56:45beginning more angles more upper body movements using that feet to spin on the outside and then
00:56:50go those shots through the middle he's throwing the shots in the middle but he's squared on
00:56:54okay so he's right in front of the movement so he's there to target and also the activity has been
00:57:00as much as he normally is with losing he's usually the busiest fighter in the ring
00:57:08is there any chance is there any chance that maybe music thinks he's winning this fight and is just
00:57:12going steady as she goes is there any chance i think so he knows he's got to do more
00:57:24haven't seen a ton of body shots from music either something he's very good at
00:57:35people were saying there's no way that rico could outbox usick but he could outwork him and guys
00:57:40i'm not arguing he might be doing both of them right now
00:57:42yeah yeah he's hustling usick
00:57:48there we go now usick coming to life or so it seems here in the 10th
00:57:56this is what we needed for lucy flurry
00:58:06better from the champion
00:58:13wow
00:58:20wow big wealth on the right side of rinko's face
00:58:29look he was winning that ramp and you switched off
00:58:32you understand look listen to me
00:58:39it's a lovely shot there really good another cut then somewhere in the middle here i think
00:58:45for usick
00:58:48i think he's got to start the next round usick the way he approves that but certainly the last couple
00:58:54of
00:58:54minutes in that get busy get really really in the face now of verhoven be sharper every time he lands
00:59:03one or two
00:59:03who's sick back comes verhoven
00:59:09we are entering the championship rounds
00:59:17and rico is right in the thick of things a good finish around 10 though for the champ
00:59:23it breaks my heart to say it but these cousins like they sort of work don't they
00:59:31it's the fight could hang in the balance here over the last two
00:59:35is this where lucy comes to life as we've seen him do in prior fights especially against aj and tottenham
00:59:42stadium and he's looked flat-footed all night alexander he's flat-footed a little slow off the mark
00:59:49can you attribute all that to to the weight gain
00:59:51well maybe but also
00:59:57yeah look i don't recall real over was actually winning that last round and then
01:00:00music really came on and i thought heard rico down the stretch i want to see music really press the
01:00:05action now he needs to score a knockdown i believe
01:00:07looks like he's sharpened up a little bit this 11 but he hasn't kept it going us here
01:00:15you saw rico use his shoulder there to push usick away
01:00:19double jab from rico showing you the fundamentals he's picked up over the years
01:00:26oh good shot peter fury tight rico on the corner you can't switch off even for a second
01:00:33against usick
01:00:33and he finished thotts here with a front hook upstairs usick
01:00:39you gotta dip down to the body here now music as well when he lifts that head up
01:00:43with under the body
01:00:45stiff jab from rico and then he goes downstairs tough isn't he
01:00:51just when i feel usick is close to something to building something
01:00:57but who lands or does this grabs hold leans on and just stops that threat instantly
01:01:06either way this has been a great fight from an entertainment standpoint
01:01:10blood to the nose of usick
01:01:12there were people saying look at the last fight it's going to be a sore one-sided don't even bother
01:01:18it has been anything but it has been anything but in fact rico might well be winning
01:01:24we think he is
01:01:25win more that right-handed then the hoven
01:01:29go to this point
01:01:34the fit around for Alexander Luzic
01:01:40but he can't get rid of him he's hit him there's lots of shots lots of good shots there
01:01:44again it's a bit of fatigue and then he's taking the shots really well
01:02:03what a fantastic shot that one from usick
01:02:08oh they're going to give him time to put the mouthpiece back in all right he looks unsteady
01:02:16he's complaining about it
01:02:18and he should be
01:02:21some valuable time wasted there
01:02:24and now he's got in the corner can he close the show
01:02:29he goes to trouble
01:02:30and what are you doing referee what are you doing are you kidding me this is for the heavyweight championship
01:02:39of the world
01:02:40I don't believe it
01:02:42the corner are going crazy
01:02:46but look what it means to this man here
01:02:50alarm bells were ringing it wasn't going his way
01:02:56i'll tell you what though it was seconds for that bell going for the end of that round
01:03:00but a few more punches i think he was done for
01:03:04the entire rico contingent in hysterics in the corner and how can you not be
01:03:10they are all shaking their heads in the verhoeven corner every single one of his team
01:03:16i'll tell you something though
01:03:18Alexander Luzic got a little jail there
01:03:19i'm telling you he got it
01:03:21he might have got the stoppage in the next round he might have got the stoppage with a couple of
01:03:24more shots
01:03:25but he got a little jail there for sure
01:03:27well that was a hard fight disaster averted for the heavyweight champion of the world as
01:03:34Alexander Luzic scores an 11th round ko win over the king of kickboxing
01:03:41well i mean this sport gives you no security it gives you nothing when you think you're safe
01:03:45we know where the best fight it is we know what's going to happen and then you get this
01:03:50oh none of this is meant to happen it was a lovely finish though from Alexander Luzic there's quality of
01:03:55the work
01:03:55oh that right uppercut absolute peach of a shot it really was but again though
01:04:02it's verhoeven trying to fight with the bravery just swinging so he was fatigued a little bit hurt
01:04:09but swinging got him into trouble he got too greedy no he didn't i just think i mean no he's
01:04:14just so
01:04:14tired but rather than use his smarts and take a break he's going no this is not how i fight
01:04:20this is not how i fight i'm gonna fight like a champion just put it on him put it on
01:04:23him like
01:04:23it's worked all night for me wow i mean it tells you something when the referee has to get between
01:04:29two men fighting each other to stop the fight what what we've already said this throughout but what a
01:04:35superb effort that was for for hoven whether you agree with the stoppage or not you cannot disagree
01:04:42that that was superb what he was able to do there well champions find ways to win and that's what
01:04:50alexander did here in the 11th round that was just nothing that what we would have thought we were
01:05:02going to see tonight from start to finish that wasn't the fight that we thought we were going to see
01:05:10well either way great entertainment tonight here from egypt and we expect the same thing saturday jude 27
01:05:17xander zayas taking on boots ennis and a big one in brooklyn that's part of your ultimate package live
01:05:25here on the zone mike coppager will bring you back in here right now what did you think of that
01:05:30stoppage
01:05:31i mean that was a terrible stoppage look usic would have stopped him let's be real i think he would
01:05:35have
01:05:35stopped him and the referee made a bad decision giving him more time with the mouthpiece you don't put the
01:05:40mouthpiece back in when the fighter's in trouble so i think usic would have stopped him in the next round
01:05:44anyway but a bad stoppage and what it really does is it robs usic of a more clear victory too
01:05:49but
01:05:50hey look maybe we see a rematch right the thing is as well it was it was there the ending
01:05:55was so
01:05:56close to the fight not just usic winning we don't know as barry said you don't know if he would
01:06:01have
01:06:01got the stoppage but the end was so close i think you've got the end of the round the end
01:06:06of the round
01:06:07the end of the fight even look it was around the way you know you've got to give the guy
01:06:11who's winning
01:06:11the fire every chance let me just say one thing the master boxer we all agreed he's the master boxer
01:06:17all the time to lose it was behind must have been behind that just blows my mind forget about the
01:06:22stopping he was behind in a fight against someone who's only had one professional fight it's just
01:06:27i can't get my head around that you can see the disappointment on the face of rico a lot of
01:06:32people
01:06:32would think hey he should be happy with his performance but that's not the kind of man and athlete
01:06:37he is he only fights to win here's michael buffer
01:06:43ladies and gentlemen after 10 great rounds we go into round 11 referee mark lyson has to step in and
01:06:51call a halt to the bout two minutes 59 seconds of round number 11 the winner by tko victory still
01:07:02undefeated and still the ring wbc wba universally recognized lineal undefeated heavyweight champion of
01:07:14the world of the world alexander
01:07:26it's not the win we expected him to get or the way we expected him to get it but he
01:07:31did the job
01:07:32one second left in round 11 and that's how this fight ends what scenes here in a gift give him
01:07:41a hand
01:07:42from the netherlands riko verhoeven
01:07:53that was unbelievable i mean it was nuts the takeaway from this and the one who gets all the credit
01:07:58even
01:07:59in defeat is riko verhoeven he gets all that credit the way he boxed the smart he was intelligent with
01:08:05his work he used that physical strength the punches were good he showed a great chin i mean he got
01:08:12all
01:08:12he agreed to be a fantastic boxer i mean whether he wants to go back to kickboxing but i know
01:08:16he's the
01:08:16king of that he was always the king of this sport i'll tell you what they've seen some sites those
01:08:21pyramids they've seen some changes they've seen some remarkable things in the thousands of years they've
01:08:27been there but that would have been one of the most strangest they ever would have experienced
01:08:33yeah and look i just want to say like riko verhoeven i still would have had him up going into
01:08:37that 12th
01:08:38round even with the knockdown and there was one second left in the round he deserved the chance to
01:08:43continue and finish the fight and at least get a chance in there with the way he performs all right
01:08:48let's go into the ring now and all a order depot alexander in the end you do what you always
01:08:56do you
01:08:56found a way to win but that was a lot tougher fight than many expected uh hi everyone yeah jped
01:09:06salam
01:09:07aleikum thank you so much for me it's very important but i know right now in ukrainian my people in
01:09:20my
01:09:21country fly bombing uh my people now sitting in bomb shelter my my family my daughter to bomb shelter send
01:09:31me message papa i love you you win i afraid i say oh my god thank you so much thank
01:09:42you so much riko
01:09:44you're amazing fighter thank you so much you your team coach ha ha smart my team i love you
01:09:56you are the best katerina my wife i love you you my light you my life you my heart
01:10:11you knew that he was going to be a tough fight he has a style that you've not seen before
01:10:15yes this
01:10:17fight was uh hard uh ego good uh prepare i know but uh it's good fight did you think going
01:10:26into that
01:10:26last round round 11 that you needed a knockout or a knockdown to win
01:10:38i just boxing you know this is my right uppercut bam and bam bam bam happy thank you god thank
01:10:48you god
01:10:49thank you god jesus christ thank you thank you so much i know you have so many belts around you
01:10:54i believe there is another belt this is the new ring belt this is the new ring belt this was
01:11:01an
01:11:01unbelievable performance by usik but there's another guy that wants to face him who's in the ring right
01:11:07now which is another undefeated guy ajit kabayel and i know we got istanbul around the corner
01:11:18here is excellency turkey all chic no it is the truth of ozik yes okay and this is not the
01:11:27right
01:11:27right time he's in the line yeah but also in the same times he deserved three match after the after
01:11:34kabayel we want to see but it is if your organization listen brother i ready yeah okay
01:11:42i ready every okay they are in the line both of them we want to see it we want to
01:11:48see kabayel
01:11:50and we want to see riko the rematch in holland
01:11:55riko rico come in very quickly
01:12:00i feel like we have three fighters here and we're going to try and organize this now rico congratulations
01:12:05on an incredible performance your team were very upset with the stoppage only five seconds left
01:12:11in round 11 were you upset with the stoppage as well yeah of course i thought it was an early
01:12:16stoppage
01:12:16but in the end you know it's not up to me um but still i thought i found it a
01:12:22little bit early you
01:12:23know the i believe the referee knows that we're almost at the end of the round so or let me
01:12:28go out on my
01:12:29shield or you know uh let the bell go that's what i thought but you know like i said it's
01:12:35not up to me
01:12:35and i uh i was already super thankful for the opportunity as well so that usy took this fight
01:12:41um so to the wbc giving me the giving me this opportunity uh his excellency told me uh like oh
01:12:49i want a rematch this was an amazing fight man you were so good so but i also know this
01:12:54man is waiting
01:12:55so you know it's like i said it's not up to me it's up to the organization so uh yeah
01:13:00let's see what
01:13:00happens rico congratulations on an incredible performance you were so close to shocking the
01:13:05world and you said you was going to shock the world i know i know that's why i thought oh
01:13:10you know don't stop it man it was so we're so close you know let me at least or go
01:13:16out on my shield or
01:13:17let us go in the 12th you know like i said i was close so i thought like we were
01:13:21pretty equal on the
01:13:22scores cards that's at least what i what i felt like so um but like i said i'm i'm very
01:13:26proud very
01:13:27thankful very thankful for everybody who came out oh my god thank you guys look at that we're at the
01:13:35pyramids guys tonight we all wrote history so thank you so much thank you so much thank you so much
01:13:43his
01:13:43excellency uh of course thank you so much to my brother jason who uh who put my name out to
01:13:49his
01:13:49excellency thank you to wbc thank you to uh mr usik for taking this fight so i'm i'm super proud
01:13:56with my
01:13:57uh with my performance of being here that even the boxing world hopefully now embraces me as a
01:14:03boxer as well so i like i said i'm just uh amazingly happy to be here you are 100 a
01:14:08boxer i do want to
01:14:09quickly speak to agit cavall out agit you've waited for a long time for this opportunity you've been the
01:14:15wbc number one contender for so long here is your opportunity again first of all congratulations alexander
01:14:24you know i've waited so long for the situation i'm ready i think germany is ready for the fight
01:14:29all the german fans wait i know many ukrainian people have also in germany let's do it in germany in
01:14:35stadium i think the faint the fans want to the fight all the fans uh boxing let's do the thing
01:14:42okay let's do it no problem yeah if uh if turkey alay sheikh organization no problem brother i'm ready
01:14:51yeah i feel like i have a rematch i have i do sick i have cabal cabal you've waited so
01:14:58long
01:14:58alexander it comes down to you no it comes down to you alexander alexander what do you want next do
01:15:05you
01:15:05the rematch or do you want cabal uh i i can uh boxing both you're special but maybe even you
01:15:17can't do
01:15:18that bro no problem uh one i want dedicate this fight uh ukrainian people and ukrainian soldier
01:15:32slava bows of sad slava ukrainian
01:15:38finally before i let everyone go here congratulations on an incredible performance if we see the rematch
01:15:44again i know everyone will be very happy i get cabal we want to see you fight alexander
01:15:50usick yes you're in the ring to make this fight spencer brown come in spencer this is the normal
01:15:56thing i'm the number one contender from wbc spencer surely surely we get this fight next agit cabal
01:16:02alexander usick it's going to be ordered they're going to fight that was an unbelievable performance
01:16:07by rick unbelievable i'm speechless how he done he was that good but um we've got a new challenger
01:16:15he's he's he's in line and there can only be one fight and both agree to it let's get it
01:16:21on when
01:16:24they're both ready whenever you want whenever they want when turkey ala shake he's got the checkbook
01:16:31so i'm hoping end of september october unbelievable i get hopefully we see that in germany in germany
01:16:38in germany with all your german fans and kurdish fans rico final one before i let you go congratulations
01:16:45on incredible performance you said to me i'm going to shock you i'm going to surprise you
01:16:49and you shocked me and you surprised me rico yeah thank you so much for saying that so uh
01:16:57whoo uh what a transition it was guys six months of hard work transitioning into boxing uh it was crazy
01:17:04it was an amazing hard work uh all i can say is i hope it paid off i hope you
01:17:08guys liked it
01:17:09um so first of all i want to say thank you so much to my whole team for helping me
01:17:15out helping me
01:17:16through this transition putting in all the work day and night uh i love you guys appreciate you guys for
01:17:22everything love you so much and uh yeah i'll be back you will be back congratulations rico well done guys
01:17:30oh what might have oh what might have been for rico verhoeven it looked for a minute there like it
01:17:36was written in the stars but in the end one of boxing's biggest stars laid down the law with one
01:17:42second left in round 11 and still your ring magazine world heavyweight champion olexander usik
01:17:50we'll put a wrap on things live from the pyramids what a fight what a night beyond the bell when
01:17:58we return
01:17:59we'll be right back to you
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