How a kickboxing legend & Statham's pal landed a shot at Usyk
If Saturday delivers the most astonishing upset boxing has ever seen, the history books will have Jason Statham to thank. A chance encounter with Hollywood's go-to hard man has somehow landed Dutchman Rico Verhoeven - a kickboxing legend with just one professional boxing bout to his name - an unlikely WBC world title shot against heavyweight great Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt. It began when Verhoeven bumped into Briton Statham - a close ally of Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh - in Las Vegas in September 2024, during the Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez v Terence Crawford fight week.
"I know you can beat a lot of these guys, or maybe everybody," Verhoeven says Statham told him. "I said: 'Yeah, 100%'. " By the next morning, things had escalated.
Verhoeven was mid-run on a treadmill when Statham called him. "'Yo, bro, I put your name out there. They loved it.
They're down. They want to do it. They're going to reach out, I give them your number,'" Verhoeven says.
Secrets, acting & 16 years unbeaten - in camp with Usyk Verhoeven was originally set to face Anthony Joshua but, when the Briton's career was stalled by a serious car accident in November, something even bigger emerged. On paper, Verhoeven challenging Usyk - a pound-for-pound great and one of the most complete fighters of his era - for the WBC title is absurd. But Verhoeven believes his inexperience and unpredictability could turn what many see as impossible into reality.