Now Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions wants to revive talks for a fight between Verhoeven and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
“MVP is 100 percent interested in working with Rico on his next foray into boxing or MMA,” said MVP CEO and Co-Founder Nakisa Bidarian The Ring.
Verhoeven was previously linked to Ngannou before accepting the Usyk fight. Ngannou fought Philipe Lins earlier this month and stopped him in one round.
Ngannou reacted strongly to Rico’s performance against Usyk and suggested that crusaders are judged differently when they go into boxing.
“Outsiders will never win, believe me, I know, but Rico was the winner tonight, period,” Ngannou said on social media after the fight.
Jake Paul also questioned the result after the controversial stoppage and praised Verhoeven’s performance against the unbeaten heavyweight champion.
“I really love boxing, and what happened seriously saddens me. The sport and the fans deserve better,” Jake said on social media.
“I can’t get away from this, but Usyk is the best of our generation, and Rico just worked him every round. So is Rico the best of our generation?”
Verhoeven later said he plans to continue boxing after the Usyk fight, opening the door for possible fights against Ngannou and other heavyweights.
However, the timing can get complicated. Turki Alalshikh has already spoken publicly about wanting Usyk to face Agit Kabayel next before revisiting a rematch with Verhoeven. This can make Rico wait unless another big fight is settled in the meantime.
A Verhoeven-Ngannou fight may now be one of the biggest crossover fights available in combat sports.
