Oleksandr Usyk has opted to fight kickboxer Rico Verhoeven instead of one of his mandatory challengers – and has come in for criticism
Oleksandr Usyk has been accused of chasing a payday by taking on kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.
Usyk will defend his WBC heavyweight title against the Dutchman in Egypt on May 23 after opting to give up his WBO belt rather than defend his undisputed crown against Fabio Wardley. Verhoeven has only fought once as a professional boxer but is recognised as one of the greatest-ever in his own field.
Usyk this week outlined the final three fights of his career, setting his sights on facing the winner of Wardley’s clash with Daniel Dubois and then a trilogy bout with Tyson Fury. One man not on his hitlist is Agit Kabayel, who holds the interim WBC title and who is the mandatory challenger to Usyk, and he believes the Ukrainian has given up chasing sporting challenges.
“We fought [Arslanbek] Makhmudov, whom nobody wanted to fight against because he was seen as the great Grizzy, who basically knocked out everyone,” he said. “We fought Frank Sanchez, who was also higher ranked than everyone at the top but nobody wanted to fight him.
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“When I read the comments, people say, why doesn’t Agit fight [Deontay] Wilder or so-and-so, why should I box someone who is so far behind in the rankings when I box against people who are practically ahead of me? The fact we haven’t been able to secure the Usyk fight is questionable. I just think by now, Usyk isn’t looking for a sporting challenge anymore. He’s still thinking about a pay day.
“Like I said, I don’t want to throw away any chance. I’m close to achieving something big, but at some point, I have to be honest with you, it starts to get on your nerves. The way we train, we give it our all. I had ups and downs, and I thought, hey, you give it your all every time. I’m up to No.2 in all the rankings and yet people try to put obstacles in my way.
“But nevertheless, as I said, we’ll keep going, at least try to stay motivated, to stay clear in my head, and yeah, as I said, it’s not in our power, right? I hope God does it the way it’s written for me.”
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