Oleksandr Usyk narrowly retained his heavyweight world title in a contentious late stoppage against Rico Verhoeven. The fight took place in front of the pyramids, with Verhoeven dominating much of the bout and seemingly leading on the scorecards before Usyk knocked him down with an uppercut in the final moments of the round. Despite Verhoeven getting back up, the referee halted the fight with just a second left after another flurry of punches.
Both fighters showed respect after the fight, with Usyk praising Verhoeven as an amazing fighter, while Verhoeven expressed disappointment in the stoppage, feeling he could have continued. The match saw Verhoeven making an early impact with a right hand, but Usyk gradually found his rhythm, landing significant blows as the fight progressed.
In the undercard matches, Hamzah Sheeraz claimed the WBO super-middleweight world title with a second-round knockout of Alem Begic, while Jack Catterall secured a portion of the WBA welterweight world title by outpointing Shakhram Giyasov. Additionally, rising American heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr suffered a knockout defeat to Frank Sanchez, who earned a shot at a world title with an impressive second-round stoppage.
