SportBoxingOleksandr UsykRico Verhoeven was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk in the 11th round last weekend but believes he should have been allowed to continue into the final session08:58, 27 May 2026Updated 08:58, 27 May 2026Rico Verhoeven believes he had a commanding lead over Oleksandr Usyk before he was controversially stopped by the Ukrainian.‌The kickboxing legend was a huge underdog against the unified heavyweight boxing world champion but dominated large swathes of the fight in front of the pyramids. He was ahead on one of the judges' scorecards - while the other two had the fight level - heading into the 11th round.‌Usyk then dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut and although the Dutchman beat the count, referee Mark Lyson waved the contest off after another flurry, even though the bell to end the round had already sounded. And Verhoeven has now recalled how he was scoring the contest.‌READ MORE: Oleksandr Usyk told to retire immediately after Rico Verhoeven fightREAD MORE: Oleksandr Usyk struggles to controversial win over kickboxer Rico Verhoeven"There were open scorecards and after four rounds, they said we're even," he told the Ariel Helwani Show. "I was like, 'Hmm, ok.' I felt like it was at least three to one, but ok, we're even, that's fine. Then we got the scorecards again after another four rounds and still we were even. It started to feel fishy because I felt like I was winning these rounds. I was working more, I was getting hit less, so maybe I have to push it a little bit more."Asked how he had scored the fight after 10 rounds, Verhoeven added: “Somewhere 8-2. I look at certain rounds, and I’m like, ‘How did I lose that?’ He didn’t even touch me, maybe more than once or twice, and I hit him four, five, six times.”‌Verhoeven, in just his second boxing fight and first since 2014, had threatened to spring one of boxing’s biggest surprises as he frustrated Usyk. The 37-year-old appeared to throw Usyk with his unorthodox stance and struck first in the opening round, although the champion responded in the second.Usyk, 39, was not moving freely and was caught several times as the pace slowed into the middle rounds. He came under pressure on the ropes as Verhoeven threatened the upset, catching Usyk with a strong right hand in the eighth before the Ukrainian responded with a left late in the round.Verhoeven again forced Usyk back onto the ropes in the ninth round and kept up the pressure in the 10th, but Usyk survived and delivered the decisive blows late in the 11th round. Speaking to Dazn, Usyk said: “This fight was hard. It was a good fight.”Article continues belowHe said he was “ready” to fight Germany’s WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel, who was in the ring after the fight. Verhoeven said: “I thought it was an early stoppage but in the end it’s not up to me.”Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Oleksandr Usyk