Usyk to defend WBC title against Rico Verhoeven as fight with rico verhoeven is set for the Pyramids of Giza

Oleksandr Usyk will return to the ring to defend his WBC heavyweight title against kickboxer rico verhoeven in a bout billed for the Pyramids of Giza; the matchup, set for May, pairs boxing's undisputed elite with a decorated kickboxing champion and raises immediate questions about competitiveness and spectacle.

Fight scheduled for 23 May at the Pyramids of Giza, billed 'Glory in Giza'

The fight is set to take place on 23 May at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt in an event organisers have dubbed "Glory in Giza. " Promoters say the contest will be staged "under the shadow of ancient giants, " a world heavyweight title fight framed by one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Details of the fight's precise location are light beyond that description.

Usyk's status: unbeaten, two-time undisputed champion with multiple belts

Oleksandr Usyk enters the fight unbeaten in his professional career. He is a two-time undisputed heavyweight champion who holds the WBA, WBC and IBF belts after beating Tyson Fury in 2024 to become the first undisputed heavyweight of boxing's four-belt era and the first since Lennox Lewis. Usyk repeated that victory in a rematch and then knocked out Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last year to reunify the IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA titles. He has not boxed since stopping Dubois in July and vacated the WBO title.

Rico Verhoeven's kickboxing reign, boxing background and training with the Furys

Rico Verhoeven, a 36-year-old Dutch heavyweight, is widely regarded as the best heavyweight kickboxer in the world. He had 76 fights and 66 wins in his kickboxing career and spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion before announcing his departure from the sport in November. Verhoeven dominated the Glory promotion with a championship reign that dated back to 2013 and vacated that crown before turning his attention to boxing.

Verhoeven has limited professional boxing experience: he will be boxing for the first time since 2014 when he faces Usyk on 23 May, and his only prior pro boxing bout was a 2014 knockout victory over Janos Finfera, who held a 0-5 record. He has trained with coach Peter Fury and has past sparring experience with Tyson Fury.

What Usyk and Verhoeven have said about the challenge

Usyk praised his opponent's sporting achievements, saying he truly respects people who reach the very top in their sport and calling Rico a powerful athlete and a great champion. Usyk added that being a champion is about years of hard work, discipline and belief, and that while he respects Verhoeven's journey and his status as "the King of Kickboxing, " boxing is a different game with its own rules and its own kings. Usyk said he is ready and really looking forward to meeting him in the ring and that "a big night is coming. "

Verhoeven said he spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and had accomplished everything he set out to accomplish; staying at the top for that long, he said, strengthened his hunger rather than diminishing it. He explained he wasn't looking for comfort and sought the highest challenge available in another world, calling Usyk an undisputed champion in boxing and saying that matchup — "undisputed versus undisputed" — is the kind of challenge that motivates him.

Competitiveness concerns, previous links to Anthony Joshua, and the broader heavyweight picture

Commentary around the matchup has labelled it a mammoth mismatch, with critics noting the spectacle of staging a world-title fight beneath the Pyramids almost distracts from how extraordinary and, to some, bizarre the pairing is. Verhoeven had been loosely linked with a bout against Anthony Joshua before the Briton's car crash in December, a sign of crossover conversations that now lead to a sanctioned world-title challenge against a pound-for-pound great.

Questions have been raised about Usyk's opponents: he vacated his WBO title rather than face Fabio Wardley, and names such as Agit Kabayel have been repeatedly mentioned by fans seeking a live, unbeaten contender with momentum. While crossover debutants have had notable moments — notably when Francis Ngannou dropped and pushed Tyson Fury to the brink in 2023, nearly producing one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history — observers stress that someone as methodical and disciplined as Usyk is unlikely to repeat Fury's errors. Still, the fight leaves unresolved whether this pairing is motivated more by spectacle than by traditional matchmaking.