Oleksandr Usyk’s fight with Rico Verhoeven this Saturday is likely not going to be competitive in the slightest — and Uncrowned isn’t here to try and convince you otherwise.
At the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter shares the ring with a man who has just one professional boxing bout to his name. It is an absurd mismatch of levels, experience and skill, and will probably look every bit as one-sided as it should.
But that is exactly the kind of night Usyk deserves.
He has just 24 fights to his name. 13 of the last 15 have been world title fights. Undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Two wins apiece over Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, alongside victories over every top cruiserweight from nearly a decade ago.
The Ukrainian has completed boxing.
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Now that Usyk may be in the final stretch of his career — the unified heavyweight champion told media outlets earlier this week that he believes Saturday will be his antepenultimate appearance in a boxing ring — he finally deserves a break. It’s not as if Usyk is doing exhibitions while boxing fans are still waiting for genuine super fights to happen. No, Usyk has fought and beaten everybody he needed to. So now, he deserves a bit of an easier night at the office, a fun event.
And that’s what Usyk’s fight with Verhoeven should be viewed as. When was the last time the heavyweight championship of the world was contested in Africa? Has there ever been a major boxing event in Egypt? Not that I remember. And to top it all off, the Pyramids of Giza, where some of the most famous ancient pharaohs are celebrated, is going to be the backdrop for two kings of combat sports in the modern era.
It’s an event that will be remembered for many years to come. It gives Usyk the chance to be celebrated as a great by an entirely new audience. Hosting the heavyweight championship — and in particular a fighter like Usyk — in Egypt gives boxing the chance to grow in a new market.
Let’s address perhaps the biggest criticism of this fight, which is that it deprives one of the more deserving challengers of an opportunity to prove himself as a great. But the question I have is: Who are these fighters that are missing out? WBO champion Dubois? Been there, done that. Moses Itauma? He has not proven himself in the slightest yet. Agit Kabayel? Yes, perhaps he’s the best available opponent for Usyk, but it’s not a must-see event. Bookmakers will not be pricing it as remotely competitive. It is not going to be a super fight that has the general public glued to their screens. It’s merely the next guy in line. And let me tell you something — there will always be a next guy.
Further to the point, if Usyk is to be taken at his word, he still has two fights left after Verhoeven, and with Kabayel being the WBC mandatory, that contest has a very real chance of materializing. But beyond that, there aren’t a plethora of contenders waiting for a deserved shot at the belts. So let’s cut Usyk some slack.
After all, Usyk isn’t the first boxer to take part in a crossover bout, and he won’t be the last. Just recently — while fans were waiting for Fury and Usyk to clash for undisputed — Fury instead took on UFC heavyweight champion and boxing debutant Francis Ngannou in his lone bout of 2023. Fury was floored by Ngannou and eked a controversial split decision in what was a worrying scene for the sport. Anthony Joshua may have put crossover fights to bed for the time being with his second-round destruction of Ngannou, but they always have had and perhaps always will have a place in boxing.
The late, great Muhammad Ali was the undisputed heavyweight champion when he shared the ring with wrestling legend Antonio Inoki in a special rules match that was fought to a draw. In another bizarre spectacle, George Foreman fought five different men on the same night in 1975 after losing to Ali the year before. More recently, Floyd Mayweather came out of retirement to take on then-UFC champion Conor McGregor.
There’s a history of top-level boxers taking on fighters from different disciplines. And Usyk is merely the latest to dabble in the spectacle.
Usyk has already done the hard part. He’s beaten the best heavyweights and cruiserweights of his era and cemented himself as an all-time great. If the final chapter of his career involves a crossover fight beneath the Pyramids of Giza, then frankly, he’s earned it.