Under a moonlit sky with the pyramids glowing in neon splendour, Rico Verhoeven will attempt the impossible in the middle of the magical setting on Saturday night. In the opposite corner will be heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk, surrounded by his entourage and lightly dancing on his toes until it is time to fight. The pyramids of Giza form the backdrop to the latest extraordinary story in boxing's rich tradition of mayhem: crossover season is back.
Verhoeven's Unlikely Challenge
Verhoeven will be in a world heavyweight title fight in just his second professional boxing match. Even if he wins, he will not leave the ring with any of the world championship belts. Verhoeven is not expected to win, but he will be a dangerous nuisance until Usyk breaks him. If Usyk loses, it would be the biggest shock ever in any sport.
There is a glorious and often ugly history of fighters entering the boxing ring with skills from other combat sports as a flimsy shield, only to be beaten badly. Some exceptions exist: Vitali Klitschko was a great heavyweight champion after a kickboxing career, but that was a permanent early crossover. Most others have ended in pain for the aspiring wrestler, jiu-jitsu master, karate king, kung fu boss, or kickboxing legend. The same has been true when boxers switched to MMA or Muay Thai for cash. Anthony Joshua knocking out Francis Ngannou in 2024 and Randy Couture submitting James Toney in 2010 are ugly memories, though Ngannou's boxing debut against Tyson Fury was commendable.
The Glorious Setting
Verhoeven has been gifted the greatest setting to change the trend. He was the Glory world kickboxing champion for an impressive 4,220 days, with an unbeaten sequence of 22 wins. He has ambitions for a life and career in Hollywood. Jean-Claude Van Damme once won 19 of his 20 fights by brutal knockout as a kickboxer, then became a Hollywood legend. Verhoeven follows in those footsteps, and fighting Usyk is a decent way to launch that journey.
In the week of the fight, the status of the three genuine heavyweight belts that Usyk won in the boxing ring remains unclear. The WBC has created an ornate belt with camels and pyramids for the fight, but if their champion loses, he might not lose his real belt. It is murky and a bit silly, to tell the truth. The IBF and WBA have reluctantly sanctioned the fight, but Verhoeven will not leave with their belts if he pulls off the shock in the Egyptian desert late on Saturday night.
The Spectacle
So it will be a week of photo opportunities with ugly camels (the most cherished, it turns out), men wearing a fashion gimmick Fez, and trips in a felucca down the Nile. There will be sunsets from verandahs, balanced with gatherings of boxing's most seasoned people arguing about gloves and ring size.
It is all Van Damme's fault, his mix of Hollywood and knockouts. Big Rico is walking in those footsteps against one of the most spectacular backdrops ever in sport and one of the very best heavyweight champions to ever fight. I said magical, not logical.
