Usyk v Verhoeven - all you need to know
Radio commentary from Cairo will begin from 22:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website and app, on Saturday, 23 May. You can hear round-by-round updates from the co-main event when Briton Hamzah Sheeraz faces WBO super-middleweight champion Alem Begic, before the heavyweight showdown. Live text commentary will start from 21:00 on the BBC Sport website and app.
You can follow all the action through fight week on BBC Sport, with the 5 Live Boxing podcast with Steve Bunce bringing you daily episodes. There are three world-title fights, including Sheeraz's second attempt at becoming a world champion - this time at super-middleweight. We expect Usyk and Verhoeven to fight at about 23:00, with their ringwalks not expected before 22:30.
Oleksandr Usyk (c) v Rico Verhoeven - WBC heavyweight title Hamzah Sheeraz v Alem Begic - WBO super-middleweight title Mizuki Hiruta (c) v Mai Soliman - WBO super-flyweight title The boxing records of Usyk and Verhoeven are incomparable, but both fighters have established themselves as leading figures in their respective disciplines. Usyk began campaigning as a professional boxer a year after winning gold at the 2012 Olympics in London. In just his 10th fight, Usyk beat Krzysztof Glowacki to win the WBO cruiserweight title and embarked on the road to become undisputed.
He achieved that feat in 2018 with a points win over Murat Gassiev and made one successful defence against Tony Bellew before moving up to heavyweight. Victories over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora earned Usyk a shot at unified champion Anthony Joshua, and he delivered again to win the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO belts. Following successful defences in a rematch with Joshua and then against Daniel Dubois, Usyk made history by becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era when he outpointed Tyson Fury.
Usyk beat Fury twice in 2024 and further cemented his place as one of the pound-for-pound greats when stopping Dubois in 2025 to become a two-time undisputed champion. He has yet to taste defeat in 24 fights as a professional and has won 15 of those contests inside the distance. Verhoeven has only competed once professionally as a boxer - claiming a second-round knockout win over Janos Finfera in 2014.