DUTCH COURAGE
with as a champion. And within kickboxing, I had all the challenges. I got the top dogs, all the very best. I beat them all.” This magazine has not escaped criticism either, as Usyk’s Ring belt will also change hands should Verhoeven pull off the seismic upset. The reasoning is straightforward: Usyk is the champion, fighting in an officially sanctioned 12-round boxing match. Just as it would be if he were facing anyone under those circumstances, his Ring championship is at stake – zero fees attached. We talk about Usyk. Verhoeven enters the sweet science facing arguably the greatest technician of our era. What’s his primary emotion? Does being the underdog stoke the fire to enter combat within him, or is he developing the cold demeanor of a strategist? “Yeah, what I like is that he plays chess. He plays [physical] chess on the
extraordinary cardiovascular endurance, not to mention a killer right hand. “It’s all about movement. It’s all about timing. It’s all about distance. I’m going to force my game as a kickboxer that is different to boxing right onto him. So, like you said, I’m a big unit, and I think I can move. And I think I can move pretty good, for a big guy at least.” There is a wrinkle in this narrative that demands respect. Verhoeven isn’t preparing in a kickboxing gym in Amsterdam; he is entrenched in the rugged, no-nonsense world of Peter Fury, Tyson Fury’s uncle. “I’ve been training with Peter for 15 years,” Verhoeven told me, his voice carrying the calm of a man who knows exactly what he’s walked into. “People think I’m just arriving. But I’ve been a sparring partner for Tyson Fury since back in the day. I’ve put in the miles. This isn’t a whim; it’s a destiny.” It has been a decade and a half
training boxing; not a flash in the pan. “I’ve been in and around the game for such a long time. And I think I outperformed myself on multiple occasions by coming to boxing like years and years ago. I first started off as a sparring partner within the Fury camp, and later on I became a training partner instead of just a sparring partner. I went back and back and back as I learned so much. “Peter is super important. I’ll keep my [kickboxing trainer] Dennis Krauweel as head coach, but Peter is now the one that’s running the camp, and they come up with the game plan together. All of us together, we sit down like, hey, we try this, we try that. We have studied the two fights Tyson had with Usyk. I will
history, and I’ll take it with both hands.” On paper, the technical disparity is vast. Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) is perhaps the most decorated technician of the 21st century. And his recent knockout of Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium only solidified the terrifying truth: The small heavyweight has found his power. Usyk has said that he respects Verhoeven, but the path to victory is narrow. The challenger cannot outbox the master; he must outwork him. In kickboxing, Verhoeven is known for his grind – a high- volume, high-pressure style that breaks opponents over five rounds. In a 12-round boxing match, he must translate that pressure into a claustrophobic physical presence. He must make it a forget-the-rules kind of fight, using his large frame to bully the Ukrainian, clinching where necessary, and testing whether Usyk’s 39-year-old ribs can withstand the thudding power of a man used to kicking through baseball bats. For Usyk, some say the lure of “Glory in Giza” is the spectacle – a massive global event on DAZN. Others suggest that after cleaning out the division twice, the living legend is simply looking for a novelty challenge in the twilight of his career. But for Verhoeven, this is everything. He vacated his Glory title – a belt he held for 11 years – to take this shot. He is a 14-to-1 underdog, with a knockout of an 0-5 Hungarian heavyweight back in 2014 being his only professional boxing credential. It is a monumental task. To beat Usyk, you must outthink a grandmaster. To do it in your first real boxing match is seemingly reaching for the impossible. But one thing is certain: Rico Verhoeven is not sojourning to Egypt to be a tourist. He’s come to claim a crown. Or at least find glory in the process.
Daniel Dubois experienced Usyk’s pinpoint accuracy in their rematch.
highest level. And that’s what I do, and that’s what I did within the sport of kickboxing. So this is two chess match masters against each other, but in a different sport – within his comfort zone, not mine, because he would never kickbox me. “But for me, yeah, this is fresh snow. This is new snow which I’m walking in. And I love that challenge, and I’m up for the challenge. I will leave my footprints in the snow.” I describe Usyk: He moves like a ghost. He’s there. He goes tip, tap, toe, tip, tap, toe, bang, bang. Angles. We know how he fights. It looks combatible. He looks beatable until you are in there with him. “But that’s exactly the same thing everybody says about me within kickboxing: ‘Ah, [Rico is] big. He’s a big target,’” insists the Dutch master, who is 6-foot-5 and will probably outweigh Usyk by 30 pounds. He is also known for his
Former UFC champ Francis Ngannou also crossed over to boxing.
probably speak to Tyson. We analyze. We write everything down. We can use this, we can use that, and it’s super interesting. “Slowly there was a growing, too, like a family bond with the Furys. That’s how it went. And from there we just kept on plugging away on the whole boxing game. And I think because I was working on my boxing, I became an even better kickboxer. I have a deep respect for the Fury family and their knowledge of boxing. Peter has been instrumental in my kickboxing career.” Fury, indeed, was the architect behind his nephew Tyson’s 2015 world title-winning master class against Wladimir Klitschko and is not a man for gimmicks. Under Fury’s tutelage, Verhoeven is being rebuilt. He must shed the instinct to check leg kicks and instead master the subtle art of the shoulder roll, the half-inch slip, and the relentless, piston-like jab required of world-class boxers. But there is the gym family, and then there is his bloodline. A word on Verhoeven’s father and mother, both departed from this life: His father, Jos,
a karate black belt, got him started as a 5-year-old kid in combat sports. His mother, Jacqueline, passed recently. “Yeah, a hundred percent, she’s with me. I feel that in every fiber of my being, and the same with my dad. He’s also not here anymore. I know he’s watching down. They’re both watching down on me, and they’re supporting everything that I’m doing. They always have, they always will. So, yeah, I’ll carry that with me as soon as I make history.” The thought of Giza, of history, of creating the shock and the challenge, excites Verhoeven. “I love it. It is amazing to be making history in a special location, a historic location. To get the opportunity and to be able to stand there and showcase what we’ve got in front of the world gets me even more excited. And that so many people have written me off already, before I even got the chance, is even more exciting to me. It’s my chance to create
Gareth A Davies is the boxing correspondent for The London Telegraph and TalkSport.
46 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 47
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker