Usyk Beats Verhoeven, Retains Titles Amidst Challenger Speculation

Oleksandr Usyk came through a gritty contest to beat a game Rico Verhoeven and retain his heavyweight world titles.

Usyk, 39, was pushed to his limits by Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, but ultimately delivered the goods with one second remaining in the 11th round.

The Ukrainian had it all to lose against an opponent who had competed only once in boxing, although he carried a formidable record from kickboxing.

Usyk, who extended his undefeated record to 25 wins, consistently said in the build-up to this bout that he still wanted to fight on two more occasions before considering whether to hang up the gloves.

With no shortage of challengers queuing up for a shot at one of Usyk's three belts - the WBA 'super', WBC and IBF - who could be next for the pound-for-pound great?

Usyk still holds three heavyweight belts but, with only a handful of fights left before retirement, there is a growing sense that he is no longer driven by collecting titles.

Mandatory challengers are enforced on a rotating basis between sanctioning bodies, and next in line is WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel - widely viewed as the most deserving contender yet to receive his opportunity.

The unbeaten German has quietly built one of the strongest recent resumes in the division, stopping Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang to make his case for a title shot.

Yet there has been little indication that Usyk is interested in the fight.

Meanwhile, on the undercard in Giza, Sanchez earned a stunning knockout win against Richard Torrez Jr to become the leading contender for Usyk's IBF belt.

The IBF is expected to order a mandatory title defence within six months once WBC obligations are clarified.

Elsewhere, former cruiserweight rival Murat Gassiev - beaten by Usyk in their undisputed clash in 2018 - holds the WBA 'regular' title and also sits high in the sanctioning queue.

Verhoeven emerged from his loss against generational great Usyk with a huge amount of credit.

The kickboxing superstar, who reigned as the Glory heavyweight world champion for 12 years, clearly demonstrated that he has the tools to hang with boxing's elite.

Aged 37, time is not on Verhoeven's side, but there will undoubtedly be further opportunities.

Fellow crossover star Francis Ngannou, who pushed Tyson Fury close and suffering a heavy knockout defeat against Anthony Joshua, has set the blueprint for Verhoeven.

A rematch with Usyk has been touted, although it is unlikely to land next for Verhoeven, so options elsewhere will need to be explored.

After years of negotiations, false starts and public callouts, Joshua v Fury finally appears within touching distance.

First, Joshua must come through his scheduled bout with Albania's Kristian Prenga on 25 July.

Fury has indicated that he intends to take an interim fight, and that could take place place on the Pierce O'Leary v Mark Chamberlain undercard in Dublin on 1 August.

That leaves room for complications. One injury, one upset or one withdrawal and British boxing's biggest modern rivalry could once again drift away.

Still, there is increasing confidence the Joshua v Fury fight lands in October or November.

Daniel Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley in a fight of the year contender at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena on 9 May to become a two-time heavyweight world champion.

Wardley, whose rise from white-collar boxing to world champion remains one of the sport's most inspirational stories, suffered the first defeat of his professional career but enhanced his reputation in the process.

He dropped fellow Briton Dubois twice - including once 10 seconds into the contest - and showed enough resilience and power to reinforce his standing as a genuine world-level heavyweight.

Wardley has already activated his rematch clause.

If the series is levelled at 1-1, attention will inevitably turn towards the possibility of a trilogy - a scenario that could keep the WBO title occupied for much of the next year.