Rico Verhoeven

Bio

Right then, Rico Verhoeven. One of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers the sport has ever seen — full stop. The Dutchman has dominated GLORY's heavyweight division for over a decade, with a trophy cabinet and a knockout reel that puts him in proper legend territory in his own code.

Now he's making the leap into professional boxing, and he's not doing it gently. His first ever pro boxing fight is a world heavyweight title challenge against Oleksandr Usyk at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23. Make no mistake, that's an absolutely massive ask — whatever you think of the sanctioning decision.

Rico has proper tools. He's a genuinely big heavyweight with a kickboxer's cardio and serious punch power. The question is whether those tools translate into boxing against the best technician in the division. Boxing and kickboxing are levels apart at the top, and Usyk is the best technician of his generation. Brave man for stepping in, but the gap is vast.