The image of a champion became a separate topic at the press conference: Usyk did not take off his hat until the end <\/p>\n
In the capital of the United Kingdom, the official media campaign has started ahead of the high-profile fight between titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven.<\/p>\n
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the live broadcast of the press conference.<\/p>\n
Also read: <\/strong>The verdict is in: The Ring officially changed Fury’s status after the fight in London Today, April 14, Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) and Dutch representative Rico Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KO) held their debut press conference.<\/p>\n The Ukrainian champion appeared before the public in his signature hat, holding the WBC heavyweight title belt.<\/p>\n Despite the prestigious trophy in the hands of the Ukrainian, the fight sanctioned by the World Boxing Council will not have title defense status.<\/p>\n After finishing the dialogue with journalists, the athletes held a traditional stare-down.<\/p>\n The event took place in a notably respectful atmosphere: the opponents communicated peacefully, avoiding provocations or conflict situations.<\/p>\n View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n Why Usyk chose a kickboxer: the champion’s position<\/p>\n The choice of opponent has sparked considerable discussion in the sports community, particularly due to pressure from contender Agit Kabayel, who insists on a mandatory defense.<\/p>\n However, Oleksandr Usyk clearly justified his decision by expressing a desire to try something new.<\/p>\n “People ask me about choosing Rico, as he is not a professional boxer. But he is a wonderful person, and I really want this confrontation. I want to finally do what interests me, not what circumstances demand,” Usyk said.<\/p>\n “Before, I always followed the rules and fought with whoever I had to. Now it’s time for my own desires,” the Ukrainian explained.<\/p>\n Chances of victory: opinions of experts and the opponent<\/p>\n Rico Verhoeven, who is training under Peter Fury, expressed confidence in his abilities.<\/p>\n The Dutchman noted that while the transition to traditional boxing is challenging, he has experience sparring with elite fighters like Dillian Whyte.<\/p>\n In Rico’s opinion, his technique, borrowed from kickboxing, could become an unpleasant surprise for Usyk.<\/p>\n At the same time, legendary Lennox Lewis remains skeptical about anyone’s chances of defeating the Ukrainian, considering Usyk unbeatable at this moment. A similar confidence was previously expressed by Ukrainian heavyweight Vladyslav Syrenko.<\/p>\n Date and venue of the fight<\/p>\n The big boxing night, with a fully formed undercard, will take place on May 23, 2026.<\/p>\n The venue chosen is the historic location of Giza in Egypt.<\/p>\n For Oleksandr Usyk, this ring appearance will be his first since the triumphant title defense against Daniel Dubois in July 2025.<\/p>\n Verhoeven last boxed back in 2014, when he secured a stoppage victory over Janos Finfera.<\/p>\n The full undercard for the super fight Usyk – Verhoeven has been announced earlier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The image of the champion became a separate topic at the press conference: Usyk did not take off his hat until the very end. In the capital of the United Kingdom, the official media campaign has begun ahead of the high-profile bout between titleholder Oleksandr Usyk and kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"magazine_newspaper_sidebar_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport-en"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nThe first meeting in London: calm before the storm<\/p>\n\n