{"id":199320,"date":"2026-05-23T05:40:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/05\/23\/usyk-v-verhoeven-world-title-fight-predictions\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T05:40:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T05:40:58","slug":"usyk-v-verhoeven-world-title-fight-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/05\/23\/usyk-v-verhoeven-world-title-fight-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Usyk v Verhoeven world title fight predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC world title against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday in Egypt.<\/b><\/p>\n

The fight is unusual in location as in nature, with kickboxing world champion Verhoeven getting a title shot in just his second boxing fight – and first since 2014.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old Dutchman is aiming to pull off arguably the biggest upset in the sport’s history.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian Usyk, 39, is aiming to continue his near 17-year winning streak.<\/p>\n

Will we see an underdog win for the ages or will Usyk’s dominance continue?<\/p>\n

BBC Sport asks the boxing world for their predictions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I’m going for Usyk by stoppage in round six.” <\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Usyk will win by stoppage between rounds four and eight.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I reckon Usyk stops Verhoeven in rounds six or seven.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“It’s a crazy, crazy fight. Probably more crazy than Francis Ngannou against Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua. I think Usyk will just have a bit of fun, being the showman that it is. He could do it early but he wraps it up by the halfway mark.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I know Usyk and I know what level he’s on and I think he’s up for it. [and] put on an amazing show.”<\/p>\n

Predicton – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Verhoeven is going to be a handful but unfortunately for him he’s fighting one of the best to ever do it. So I can’t see anything else other than an Usyk victory.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I think Usyk will win the fight. It will be late or on points but if I had choose then I’ll probably go with a late stoppage. Verhoeven will be in the fight early on and he will be dangerous as he can hit very hard. But Usyk will do what he does – he will work it out and eventually take him apart and stop him late.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I think Usyk will win by TKO in rounds five or six.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Verhoeven could be a little unpredictable because he’s coming from a different discipline, but I think Usyk will work him out and get the win.” <\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I think everyone is right in saying Usyk will win whenever he wants to win. It will probably be somewhere between rounds five and seven.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I think Usyk will be too fluid for the stiff and big Verhoeven. I’ve got Usyk by knockout in nine.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I genuinely believe, given Verhoeven’s size and toughness, he could cause any other heavyweight in the division problems. I’m not saying he’d beat them but he could certainly cause them problems. Unfortunately for him, he is fighting one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. I think this goes as long as Usyk wants it to go. I’ll go for a corner stoppage in round five.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I can’t see anything other than an easy win for Usyk – by potentially a mid-to-late stoppage.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Usyk will win this whenever he feels like it. This should be very straightforward for him.”<\/p>\n

Prediction – Usyk<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC world title against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday in Egypt. The fight is unusual in location as in nature, with kickboxing world champion Verhoeven getting a title shot in just his second boxing fight – and first since 2014. The 37-year-old Dutchman is aiming to pull off arguably the biggest upset […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-199320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUsyk v Verhoeven world title fight predictions - Tahrir News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/05\/23\/usyk-v-verhoeven-world-title-fight-predictions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Usyk v Verhoeven world title fight predictions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC world title against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday in Egypt. 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