GIZA, Egypt: Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk survived a scare to earn an 11th-round stoppage against Rico Verhoeven, a Dutch kickboxer who pushed the undefeated Ukrainian to his limits on Saturday.
In a chaotic ending, the 39-year-old Usyk dropped the challenger late in the penultimate round, and the referee waved it off after Usyk pounced when Verhoeven beat the count shortly before the bell.
“I thought it was an early stoppage but in the end it’s not up to me,” Verhoeven said moments later while still in the ring with the Pyramids of Giza in the background.
Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) holds the WBC, WBA and IBF belts. For the 37-year-old Verhoeven, it was just his second time fighting as a boxer.
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