Rico Verhoeven’s bid to pull off the biggest upset in boxing history was controversially called to an end on Saturday after referee Mark Lyson halted Verhoeven’s efforts against pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk in the bout’s penultimate round.
The stoppage has been the subject of much controversy, which was only fueled after replays showed the bell rang to signal the end of Round 11 seconds before Lyson waved off the contest.
Verhoeven’s trainer, Peter Fury, shared his thoughts on the contentious ending with Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Tuesday.
“I thought he hit him with a very good shot, Oleksandr Usyk [did],” Fury began. “[Verhoeven] genuinely went down, but he got up. There was punches [being thrown by Usyk]. But when I say punches [weren’t] landing, a lot of it was going against the gloves, and [Verhoeven] threw a punch back. He was on his feet.
“I didn’t realize the bell had ended [in the moment], but the bell had ended. What [Lyson] should’ve done is sent [Verhoeven] back to his corner, because this is a guy that’s in a competitive fight for the championship of the world. He’s on his feet, the bell’s gone — send him back to the corner. He’s not taking a beating where this guy’s going to get brain damage. He’s on his feet and he fired back. He fired a right hand, and he missed, but he’s there.
“You saw when [Verhoeven] was stopped, what he said to the referee — he was coherent at all times. And even at the end of it, it tells you the type of man Rico is, because he said at the end when he was talking to [Lyson] in the ring, he said, ‘Look, I don’t like this. I’d rather go out on my shield.’ And that’s the type of man he is. Yes, it’s a mistake. What the referee’s done is wrong. It’s totally wrong what he’s done. But accidents do happen; it’s human error.”
Ironically, Verhoeven’s efforts being controversially cut short by Lyson prevented another controversy from unfolding to its full extent. The Dutch kickboxer was only one round away from going to the scorecards and having the decision go against him — unless he scored a knockdown of his own in Round 12. During the fight, most pundits believed Verhoeven was significantly ahead after 10 rounds, however two of the bout’s judges had it tied at five rounds apiece, with a third having Verhoeven up by two.
Fury’s nephew, former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, may be known for his boastful personality and antics outside of the ring, but it’s fair to say that uncle Peter is the polar opposite. The elder Fury’s reaction to the stoppage was as understanding and humble as one could expect in a situation where a referee’s verdict may have legitimately cost Verhoeven the opportunity to make history and maximize his earning potential.
Fury and Lyson shared a flight on the way back to the UK from Egypt, and during the journey, Fury enquired of Lyson’s decision to stop the bout, with Lyson alledgely revealing that — like Fury — he also did not hear the bell signal the end of Round 11.
“I shook his hands,” Fury said of Lyson. “I said, ‘There’s no hard feelings, mistakes happen.’ And that’s it. I want to believe the best in people. I don’t want to look at what could be and what could not be. It’s tragic, and it’s definitely the wrong thing to do [to stop the fight] — that’s a fact because it’s caused a lot of controversy when it was a great fight. It takes away some [of the] limelight from what Usyk had to deal with as well. It got messy through somebody else’s mistake.”
Heading into the contest, nobody gave Verhoeven much of a chance of being competitive, never mind pulling off the victory. But Fury — who previously coached Tyson Fury to a world heavyweight title and Savannah Marshall to championships in two divisions — believed that Verhoeven could successfully make the transition from a legendary kickboxer to a world-class boxer.
“I felt comfortable [about Rico boxing],” Fury revealed. “I’ve known Rico and Dennis [Krauweel] for 15 years, and I know what he can do. With him being an undisputed kickboxing champion [with] 90-odd professional fights, and this guy’s been fighting since the age of 6. Plus, add to the fact that he’s a super athlete. I genuinely believed — which has come to be true as well — that I could transform him and give him a new style.
“[Verhoeven] needs so much credit because he’s so professional, hard-working and dedicated — it’s on another level, it really is. What he’s done for me in the sparring, the way he was coming on, and not just that [but] believing in the process when it didn’t seem possible — I can’t credit him enough. I’m thankful the fight went how it did. He was very competitive in it and he put on a marvelous display. I’m absolutely over the moon.”
Usyk is boxing’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He proved far too good for the cruiserweight division and the British heavyweight trio of Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois on his way to becoming a three-time undisputed champion. It was the one-fight novice Verhoeven, however, who made the art of beating Usyk look simple at times, which has led many to come to the conclusion that Usyk may have taken the challenge lightly and not prepared to the best of his ability. Fury, on the other hand, wasn’t receptive to such an idea.
“Absolutely not,” Fury responded when asked if Usyk may have overlooked Verhoeven. “I know Team Usyk, and I know people in his team. I know them very well — I’ve got the height of respect for them. I can assure you, Oleksandr Usyk trained for this the same as he’s trained for all of his other fights. He’s had the same amount of time, he’s had good sparring, and he knew what was ahead of him.
“Don’t forget he thought he was coming in with a guy around 120-plus kilos [265 pounds]. That’s a lot of weight, and he knows how good Rico is. Don’t forget, he was asked a question: Is Dubois a harder fight than Rico? He said, ‘No, Rico is going to be more difficult.’ …. The extra pounds were put on [by Usyk] because it helps you absorb body shots, it makes you a little bit stronger to absorb the punishment, and what he’s done was very calculated. I’m not going to take anything away from Oleksandr Usyk because I know heavyweight boxing, and I know what it takes to get in there.
“What Rico was doing was putting Usyk under immense pressure,” Fury continued. “If Usyk hadn’t have been in fantastic, phenomenal shape and prepared like he had, he wouldn’t have made it [11 rounds], because Rico would’ve got to him. The pace Rico set, that sheer body weight, getting in clinches, roughing him up, and Oleksandr to withhold his momentum and still be there in the 11th round, still throwing punches, still be strong, after taking a lot of punches — how can anybody sit there in their right mind and say he took this fight lightly? They don’t know boxing if they’re doing that.
“Oleksandr Usyk doesn’t take anybody lightly. When he signs up for a fight, he goes into camp, locks himself away, and he dedicates like nobody [else]. That’s why he’s such a great three-time undisputed world champion. Guys like this, especially where he’s from, don’t take the foot off the gas.”
Much of the talk after Saturday has been about a potential rematch between the pair. Usyk is no stranger to rematches, having taken part in his fair share of them at heavyweight. It seems unlikely that a second meeting between the duo will be next because Usyk has WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel to take care of. Fury and Verhoeven have both expressed their desires for a rematch at some point, though.
“One hundred percent, I [want the rematch],” Fury said. “It would be nice for them to get it back on. Usyk will feel, ‘I’ve been robbed of a knockout. It was there on the plate for me. If you come out [for Round 12], I’d have probably got to him.’ Especially with the controversy that’s gone on around it. Rico feels like he made a [mistake] in there in the 11th round, which he didn’t need to make. I would like to see the fight happening [again]. Hopefully they can get it back on, because we’d be all for that fight again, no problem at all.”