The combat sports world is seeing kickboxers step into the boxing ring. Rico Verhoeven, a 37-year-old Dutch kickboxer, will compete for a boxing heavyweight title.
Verhoeven is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk in a 12-round bout. The fight is set to take place in Egypt at the Pyramids of Giza. Verhoeven will take Usyk’s WBC belt if he wins.
Verhoeven’s Kickboxing Background
Verhoeven was a star in Glory Kickboxing. According to Glory, he has a kickboxing record of 66-10 with 21 KOs. His last fight was a unanimous decision win over Artem Vakhitov in June. Title fights typically consist of five three-minute rounds.
Training and Support
Verhoeven is training with Peter Fury, uncle of Tyson Fury. He has sparred with Tyson Fury in the past. Action star Jason Statham is a friend of Verhoeven.
Verhoeven has had one professional boxing match, which he won by knockout in 2014.
Mayweather vs. Zambidis
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is also scheduling an exhibition bout next month in Greece. His opponent is Mike Zambidis, a former kickboxing champion like Verhoeven.
Zambidis, 45, was an icon of the K-1 circuit. He hasn’t fought since 2015. Zambidis is known for his aggressive style and knockout power, scoring 87 KOs in 158 kickboxing victories. He had a boxing bout in 2019, winning a four-round unanimous decision.
Kickboxers in Boxing
- Vitali Klitschko won kickboxing titles before becoming a heavyweight boxing champion and the mayor of Kyiv.
- British heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Matt Skelton had successful kickboxing careers. Whyte challenged for the WBC world heavyweight title in 2022, losing to Tyson Fury. Skelton fought for a world title in 2008 after retiring from kickboxing.
- Lauren Price of Wales and Chantelle Cameron of England were successful kickboxers before becoming boxing champions.
However, the transition from kickboxing to boxing isn’t always easy. Tenshin Nasukawa, a champion kickboxer, lost to Mayweather in a 2018 exhibition bout in Japan. Mayweather dropped Nasukawa three times in the first round. Nasukawa has since pursued a boxing career and fought for the WBC bantamweight title, losing to Takuma Inoue.
Matt Skelton noted the adjustments needed when switching to boxing. He said that kickboxing involves movement on the toes to avoid leg kicks, while boxing requires planting the feet and generating power from the waist.
Skelton, who transitioned to boxing in his mid-30s, felt he was too one-dimensional in his 2008 world title fight.