The question then is what options does the wronged fighter, Rico Verhoeven, have to appeal against the referee’s decision? Under the rules of the World Boxing Council (WBC), the sanctioning body for this boxing match, the Council has the discretion to correct serious injustices suffered by wronged fighters in major world title fights. Furthermore, there is a precedent for this. In 2022, the WBC officially awarded Jeff Fenech the world super featherweight championship belt 30 years after his controversial 1991 loss to Azumah Nelson.
Of course, it would be foolish to suggest that Verhoeven has to wait 30 years to get his fix and be crowned World Heavyweight Champion. It is therefore arguable that the WBC Board of Governors should now convene a Special Meeting to discuss the issue of the Usyk v Verhoeven world title fight due to the uproar the result has caused among commentators, fans and even fighters. They are all united that this fight was stopped too soon.
It is worth noting that the current WBC World Welterweight Champion, Ryan Garcia, who was at ringside, says that the stoppage happened after the 11th round was over. Others took to YouTube and said the same thing, with one angry fan even suggesting the Usyk v Verhoeven fight was rigged.
Rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that it would be considered unacceptable for a professional kickboxer with only one professional fight as a heavyweight boxer, to beat the current World Heavyweight Boxing Champion with much more experience in heavyweight boxing. In short, boxing would be considered a joke in the eyes of many if Verhoeven were allowed to beat Usyk.
But facts are facts. The three judges’ scorecards were 95-95, 95-95 and 96-94 in favor of Rico Verhoeven after the 10th round. The 11th round does not count as it was not concluded properly, with the referee wrongly stopping the fight after the bell.
Politics is common in every workplace. It would be a shame if politics were seen to be present in professional boxing as well. To counter this impression, the WBC needs to do the right thing. A no-contest ruling for this fight of theirs will not do, as it will leave Oleksandr Usyk as the WBC champion. Something more radical must be done.
The WBC needs to convince the outside world that anyone can become World Heavyweight Champion if they have the ability to do so. The WBC approved this boxing fight.
Verhoeven was winning it on points. Verhoeven still had his wits about him at the end of the 11th round. The fight was wrongly stopped. So the conclusion is simple, and it will be a progressive step for professional boxing.
The new World Heavyweight Boxing Champion is Rico Verhoeven. But it sounds better if Michael Buffer is allowed to make this announcement.
Roman Cherubim
Freelance journalist
UK
