Ukrainian professional boxer Oleksandr Usyk has reportedly inked a fight with former kickboxing heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven for the WBC heavyweight title to take place in Africa.
According to The Athletic, Usyk, who has held the unified heavyweight championship since 2025, is scheduled to fight Verhoeven on May 23.
Their fight is marketed as ‘Glory in Giza’ as the matchup is scheduled to be held at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. It would be the first time that a heavyweight title fight is held in the country.
Their fight is the second scheduled one to take place on the African continent in 2026. Boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson agreed to an exhibition fight in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That’s scheduled for April 25, a month before the Usyk-Verhoeven fight.
Usyk enters the fight with a 24-0 record, including 15 knockouts. Verhoeven won his only boxing match in 2014, against Janos Finfera, but he been a kickboxer.
The fight is expected to be aired on DAZN Pay-per-view.
Here’s what you need to know about both fighters:
Who is Oleksandr Usyk?
Usyk is 39 years old. He made his boxing debut in 2013 and hasn’t looked back since.
The 6-foot-3 southpaw currently holds three titles: IBF world heavyweight, IBO world heavyweight and WBC world heavyweight.
He has won 24 fights – 62 percent of them by knockout – and never lost.
His last fight was July 25, 2025 against Daniel DuBois, who went down twice in the fifth round and was counted out. Usyk has taken down some of heavyweight boxing’s biggest names such as Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Who is Rico Verhoeven?
Verhoeven just recently made his pro boxing debut at 36 years old. He’s known for being a professional kickboxer, who’s been touted by the nickname ‘The Prince of Kickboxing’ for years.
Born as Ricardo Verhoeven and hailing from the Netherlands, he stands at 6-foot-5 and has a 78.5 inch reach.
Verhoeven’s last boxing match was in 2014 but he won a unanimous kickboxing decision against Artem Vakhitov in July.
