Calls for Usyk vs Verhoeven Rematch At Odds with Agit Kabayel
In his latest tour of duty, IBF, WBC and WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (25-0, 16 KO’s) claimed a controversial 11th round TKO win over boxing newcomer Rico “The King of Kickboxing” Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO’s). What many thought would be a middle of the road fight for the unified champ became a neck and neck struggle.
Heading into the final rounds, the match was extremely close. This is why, when referee Mark Lyson jumped in to stop the bout in the waning seconds of the eleventh, it came across as rather fishy. In fact, Verhoeven handled himself so well that immediately after the fight, Turki Alalshikh was heavily pushing for a rematch. Naturally, The King of Kickboxing was eager to jump at that opportunity.
Any notion of a rematch has already been complicated due to interim WBC heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel’s presence in the matter. He, long ago, established himself as Usyk’s mandatory challenger. And as one would expect, Kabayel, who was in the ring, energetically expressed his desire to dance with Usyk next.
Given Kabayel’s position as the mandatory challenger and the rather unorthodox nature of the Usyk versus Verhoeven duel, Kabayel is likely to get the nod next. Clearly, stranger things have happened but let’s stay abreast of the situation to see who Usyk laces up the gloves for next.
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