What to Know:
- Saturday’s heavyweight crossover fight between unified champion Oleksandr Usyk and kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven is for a legitimate world championship, the WBC title.
- Verhoeven isn’t given much of a chance to win against boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but the setting at the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, will be a spectacle.
- The six-fight main card will air on DAZN Boxing PPV starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Price is $59.99 or included with a DAZN Ultimate subscription.
A play on words involving the Bangles, walking like an Egyptian, and banging in the ring isn’t quite coming together. So we’ll settle for pointing out that no one should take Saturday’s crossover fight between unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven all that seriously. Enjoy it for the sheer spectacle, the audacity of it all, and lighten up with a little dance like Usyk has all week long in Giza.
Usyk of Ukraine (24-0, 15 KOs) and Verhoeven (1-0, 1 KOs as a boxer, 54-10, 16 KOs as a kickboxer) will meet in a legitimate 12-round heavyweight fight for Usyk’s WBC World Heavyweight belt along with the Ring Magazine belt in a temporary ring set up in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt.
If you haven’t seen any of the promotional video, the setting truly is a spectacle.
Historic moment🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/XwqijCVeg2
— Oleksandr Usyk (@usykaa) May 19, 2026
The matchup headlines a ten-fight card featuring several worthwhile undercard fights. Four early undercard fights will stream free on DAZN Boxing starting at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. The six-fight main card will are on DAZN Boxing PPV starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Price of the one-time PPV is $59.99 or included with a DAZN Ultimate subscription.
Oleksandr Usyk Taking Rico Verhoeven Seriously, But Not Himself
Usyk weighed in on Friday at a career-high 233.3 pounds ahead of the fight with the bigger man in Verhoeven. He weighed in at 258.7 pounds, some 11 pounds lighter than in his only previous professional boxing match in 2014, but close to his recent average for kickboxing.
No one is giving Verhoeven much of a chance in this bout. Should he win, it would be an epic upset. The only real debate is whether it would be a bigger upset than Douglas over Tyson.
Usyk stands atop all of boxing on the pound-for-pound list, a universally loved and admired figure whose resume is impeccable. He has faced the top names of his generation, some more than once: Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois, Derek Chisora, and before them, every top cruiserweight. After a run like this, Usyk should be given some grace for taking a bit of a break, then returning to camp for a crossover fight with Verhoeven.
Critics are angry Usyk is “wasting” a fight on Verhoeven, especially because the Ukrainian has made it clear it is one of three fights left before he retires. He hasn’t said who he intends to fight in those last two fights, but his next mandatory challenger is Agit Kabayel of Germany who is a likely candidate for one of those two fights.
Verhoeven: The Dangerous Man With Nothing To Lose
For Verhoeven, he’s playing with house money with nothing to lose. Little is expected of the man revered in his own sport, now crossing over to challenge himself. After enjoying the build-up to the fight, Verhoeven said after the weigh-in, “Finally, we’re here! It’s because of six months of very hard work,” promising he has been fully immersed in his new sport, boxing. Verhoeven is saying all the right things, showing respect toward Usyk while promising a big surprise.
The question for Usyk is not whether he’ll win, but whether he will go straight after Verhoeven and crush him like a bug, or enjoy himself for a few rounds and then take Verhoeven out. Given the joyful nature of the champion all week, we predict he’ll give the fans at least four or five rounds of a show, then call it a night.
Asked after the weigh-in whether he is savoring his last few fights ahead of retirement, Usyk said, “I cherish every day, not only fights. Every day. Today, it’s a special day. We’re not (given) back time.
“Listen, people,” added Usyk as he turned to the crowd. “Live. Develop. Study. Smile. Live. It’s life!”
Big Stakes For Heavyweights Sanchez vs Torrez Jr.
Before Usyk and Verhoeven go through their paces, the undercard features a heavyweight fight with significant consequences. American Richard Torrez Jr. of Tulare, California (14-0, 12 KOs) will take on Frank Sanchez of Cuba (25-1, 18 KOs) in an IBF title eliminator, teeing up a title fight opportunity, although it may not be anytime soon.
That doesn’t matter. This is a critical career crossroads fight for both men. Torrez Jr., the Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalists, has been steadily building himself as a pro, overcoming his relatively small size at 6-foot-2 and proving people wrong who believe he’s limited in the era of the super heavyweight.
Sanchez came from a highly regarded amateur career, but has stalled somewhat, losing to Filip Hrgovic by knockout in 2024. Sanchez has been plagued by an injured knee, fighting one minor fight since then and having to reschedule the fight with Torrez Jr. once.
Torrez Jr. keeps on trucking with his aggressive, mobile style, coming at bigger men from angles and lunging in to land his overhand shots. He has made a trainer switch, working over the last six months with Brian “Bomac” McIntyre.
“I’m here to give it my all,” said Torrez Jr. “I’m ready to show how hard I’ve worked in camp. I’m super excited to see how far we’ve come.” Torrez Jr. said McIntyre has worked with him on fighting with more patience, not rushing in versus his usual “guns blazing” style. Torrez Jr. is the lone American heavyweight carrying the flag among the top ten in the division.
Sanchez weighed in at 240 pounds, and Torrez Jr. at 229.5. pounds.
Main Card Title Fight Trio
Jack Catterall of England (32-2, 14KOs) will face Shakhram Giyasov of Uzbekistan (17-0, 10 KOs) for the vacant WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title. The WBA saw fit to elevate the reigning champion Rolly Romero to “champion in recess” status. It’s not because Romero is injured. He’s simply been inactive since winning the belt last May, and failing to make a fight with his mandatory challenger in Giyasov.
But don’t blame Catterall or Giyasov, who are matched up in a true 50-50 fight that should be entertaining to watch if they both bring their best.
In a fight for the vacant WBO World Super Middleweight title, Hamzah Sheeraz of Essex, England (22-0-1, 18 KOs) will take on Alem Begic of Germany (29-0-1, 23 KOs), who despite his undefeated record has a thin resume and isn’t expected to challenge Sheeraz.
The remaining title defense takes place in the women’s super flyweight division as WBO World Super Flyweight champion Mizuki Hiruta of Japan (10-0, 2 KOs) faces Cairo-born Mai Soliman of Australian (10-1, 6 KOs). Hiruta is one of just two world champions to defend her title four times in 2025. The other was her countryman, Naoya Inoue. Hiruta badly wants to face Gabriela Fundora, and who wouldn’t want to see that showdown?
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.