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Usyk vs. Verhoeven

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou reacted to the awful stoppage in the boxing bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven.

In what was shaping up to potentially be one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, Usyk defeated Verhoeven via 11th-round TKO with just one second left in the penultimate round of the fight. Most fans, media, and fighters who were watching the fight believe this was a horrible stoppage and that Verhoeven was robbed of a chance to pull off a major upset. Ngannou knows the feeling all too well.

Francis Ngannou Reacts to Horrible Stoppage in Usyk vs. Verhoeven

Taking to his social media following the Usyk vs. Verhoeven boxing match, Ngannou shared his reaction to the fight being stopped early in Usyk’s favor. It was three years ago in 2023 when Ngannou lost a narrow split decision to Tyson Fury in a fight that many believe to this day that he won. Based on the referee saving Usyk from a potential disaster with the controversial stoppage, Ngannou couldn’t help but throw shade on the sport of boxing for not wanting outsiders to win, as Usyk was the A-side as one of boxing’s top athletes, while Verhoeven was coming over from kickboxing.

“Outsiders will never win, trust me I know, but Rico was the winner tonight. Period,” Ngannou wrote on X.

Scorecards Revealed for Usyk vs. Verhoeven

Following the bout, the official judges’ scorecards were released for Usyk vs. Verhoeven. The three ringside judges had the bout 95-95, 96-94 Verhoeven, and 95-95 through the first 10 rounds of the fight. Usyk would have won Round 11 with a 10-8 scorecard due to a knockdown, meaning Verhoeven would have needed to win the fight by knockout in the last round to seal a victory.

Given that most people watching the fight thought that Verhoeven was leading the dance, it’s comical that he was tied up on two judges’ scorecards heading into the championship rounds, when it was abundantly clear to anyone with a working pair of eyes that he was the more effective boxer throughout most of the contest. After getting dropped in the 11th round, it’s possible that Verhoeven would have lost in the 12th round by knockout, anyway, since he was badly hurt to end the 11th round before the referee stepped in. But we’ll never know how the fight would have truly played out, because the ref robbed Verhoeven of a chance to win the fight with the early stoppage.

We’ll see what the sport of boxing ends up doing next. Most people believe that Verhoeven deserves a rematch after fighting Usyk so close in the fight, but someone else may fight Usyk for the heavyweight title instead. Either way, it was an amazing performance by Verhoeven in defeat, as his stock goes way up in the loss. Regardless of what happens next for him, he showed everyone in the combat sports world today that he’s a top-level heavyweight boxer, and he won’t be a +1500 betting underdog if there is a rematch.