Usyk, a southpaw from Simferopol, Ukraine, enters the fight undefeated in 24 fights with 15 stoppages. The Ukrainian champion has already established himself as one of the most accomplished fighters of his era, first dominating the cruiserweight division before moving up to heavyweight and defeating Anthony Joshua twice to win multiple world titles.
Verhoeven comes from a very different background. Known as “The Prince of Kickboxing”, the Dutch fighter has compiled a record of 54-10 in professional kickboxing with 16 stoppages. His professional boxing experience is extremely limited. Verhoeven fought in boxing once in 2014 and won by knockout to move to 1-0 with one stoppage.
The situation mirrors what happened nearly a decade ago when Floyd Mayweather Jr. faced UFC star Conor McGregor. On August 26, 2017, Mayweather entered the ring with a perfect 49-0 record while McGregor made his professional boxing debut after building his reputation in mixed martial arts.
That fight, held in Las Vegas, ended with Mayweather stopping McGregor at 1:25 of the tenth round of a scheduled twelve. The victory pushed Mayweather’s record to 50-0, surpassing the long-standing 49-0 mark set by heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in 1955.
Financially, the event was massive. The Mayweather-McGregor fight generated approximately 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, making it one of the most successful combat sports events ever staged.
Now the question is whether the Usyk-Verhoeven match can create similar attention. While Verhoeven brings a strong kickboxing reputation, he doesn’t carry the same crossover notoriety that McGregor brought to the Mayweather bout.
Still, the environment alone can attract interest. Promoters chose the Pyramids of Giza as the venue, an unusual location intended to give the event global visibility and spectacle.
Meanwhile, Mayweather himself is preparing for another high-profile appearance. The former five-division champion is scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao again on September 19 in what would be a rematch of their 2015 bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In their first meeting on May 2, 2015, Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by decision to retain the WBC and WBO welterweight titles.
That fight generated more than 4.6 million pay-per-view buys, the highest total in boxing history.
Whether Usyk’s clash with Verhoeven can approach these figures remains uncertain. The crossover concept has worked before, but success often depends on the personalities involved, just like the sports game itself.
For now, the fight raises a simple question: Can a boxing champion facing a star from another combat sport garner the same kind of attention that Floyd Mayweather once did?
On May 23 in Egypt, Oleksandr Usyk will try to find out.
