If you had Oleksandr Usyk fighting a kickboxer under the Pyramids of Giza on your bingo card at the start of 2026, then you clearly had too much to drink at your New Year’s Eve party. But this is boxing, baby, and if you haven’t learned to expect the unexpected by now, then I don’t hold much hope for you in the future.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven is more spectacle than a genuine crossover fight of any importance, but as DAZN’s employees and the promoters will all tell you this weekend: “It’s heavyweight boxing. All it takes is one punch!”
Let’s dissect how likely that “one punch” is to land flush on the chin of Usyk, along with everything else that’s going on in the wild world of boxing this weekend:
1. Is this the start of Usyk’s retirement tour?
Oleksandr Usyk should have carte blanche to do whatever he wants with the rest of his boxing career.
The two-time undisputed heavyweight champion of the world has amassed an unbeaten record of 24 wins over a professional career that has spanned 13 years and two weight classes — but the list of champions and locations he has dominated sets the Ukrainian apart in a league of his own.
Usyk has away wins in world title fights in Poland, the United States, Germany, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and most notably, Russia — all against an array of dangerous operators from cruiserweight to heavyweight.
But all things must come to an end. And Usyk is no exception.
The “Cat” hasn’t needed his nine lives throughout his career, but now, at age 39, the southpaw appears to be eyeing up life in a slower lane. So, why not add Egypt to the list of nations that he has conquered in, and Rico Verhoeven to those he has bested?
Usyk will be handsomely rewarded by his Saudi paymasters for this run-out in Giza, and barring a Dutch miracle, will move on to phase two of his retirement tour still unbeaten at the back end of 2026.
Watch it or don’t watch it — live and exclusive on DAZN this Saturday night — just don’t take it too seriously.
2. Sanchez vs. Torrez Jr. is a fun fight
If Usyk vs. Verhoeven is the show-stopping dessert to Saturday’s card, then consider Frank Sanchez vs. Richard Torrez Jr. to be the heavy, rich meat and potatoes dish.
Torres Jr. has been asking for a big heavyweight test for a while now in order to springboard him into conversations at the summit of the lucrative division. The ever-dangerous Frank Sanchez is that test.
A 2024 loss to the highly-rated Agit Kabayel is the only blemish on the résumé of Sanchez, who arrives in Egypt with a 25-1 (18 KOs) pro record, and the Cuban is regarded as one of the more technically gifted heavyweights in circulation.
Eyes have been locked on Torres Jr. since his silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but without a notable scalp on his professional record, it’s unclear how high his ceiling might be in the paid ranks.
Saturday night will give us our biggest indication to date.
3. Sheeraz’s stars align in Egypt
The vacant WBO super middleweight world title is on the line this weekend on the Usyk vs. Verhoeven undercard, and England’s Hamzah Sheeraz is a massive favorite to bag the maiden world title of his career.
Sheeraz takes on Germany’s 39-year-old Alem Begic, who, thanks to ownership of the WBO’s European title at 168 pounds since 2024, has earned himself a lofty ranking with the organization.
“This is what dreams are made of, with the help of [trainer] Andy Lee, my team, let’s make history. I feel like the stars are aligned and it’s a meant-to-be moment,” Sheeraz explained in his final press conference, clearly citing the perhaps easy mark Begic is expected to be in Egypt.
Sheeraz can be found as short as -2500 odds to register the 23rd win of his pro career on Saturday night — and considering it’ll be Begic’s first fight in more than 13 months, you can see why.
4. Jones is on the middleweight climb
Friday night offers Amari Jones the chance to shine on Golden Boy’s DAZN card, headlining in San Jose, California against traveling German Vincenzo Gualtieri.
Gualtieri held the IBF middleweight title in 2023 before getting iced by Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in his first defense, but has since rebuilt himself with four wins in Germany. Now he heads into this IBF eliminator for another crack at the 160-pound title.
But it’s Jones, the 24-year-old bronze medalist from the Tokyo Olympic Games, who fans will flock to see inside the SAP Center, in what is a kind of homecoming party for the Oakland fighter.
Jones has run out to 16-0 (14 KOs) since turning over in 2021 and has moved fairly quickly. Gualtieri might not be the name on his résumé to turn heads after Friday night, but becoming well positioned in the IBF will give the young American an excellent springboard toward some of the bigger names in boxing’s historic middleweight division.
Jones is one of GBP’s hottest young stars and Friday’s matchmaking appears to be perfect.
5. Catterall vs. Giyasov is the best-matched fight of the weekend
Jack Catterall vs. Shakhram Giyasov might be the sleeper fight of the weekend — and that’s not in the traditional sense of falling asleep to Catterall’s fights, which some have claimed to have done in the past. (Sorry, Jack!)
But in the unbeaten Uzbek Giyasov, Catterall has a live and dangerous opponent for this welterweight clash, which is for a WBA regular title I thought they were trying to phase out.
Since moving up to 147 pounds, Catterall has registered impressive wins over Harlem Eubank and Ekow Essuman, but in Giyasov he is up against a well-drilled, unbeaten, standout amateur who, at age 32, will be targeting this weekend as his breakout moment.
It’s been fairly slow progress for “Wonder Boy” Giyasov, who’s fought an average of just twice a year since turning pro in 2018, but a slippery southpaw in Catterall — who has two defeats on his ledger — might just be the tonic to elevate him to welterweight superstardom.
Giyasov starts as a +175 dog and officially qualifies as Watson’s Pick of the Weekend in a new segment that will start and end here.