'Insane' - Paul & Bellew react to Verhoeven stoppage
Tony Bellew, Jake Paul and more react to the controversial stoppage win for Oleksandr Usyk against Rico Verhoeven.
Jake Paul and Francis Ngannou were among those baffled by the referee's decision to stop Oleksandr Usyk's fight with Rico Verhoeven in the 11th round of their WBC heavyweight world title fight. Usyk produced a stunning comeback knockout in the penultimate round against Verhoeven having spent much of the bout struggling to contain the Dutchman. Verhoeven got back to his feet after a heavy knockdown but the referee quickly stepped in to stop the contest just as the bell sounded.
Paul called the stoppage "insane" insisting Verhoeven was winning the fight until that moment. "Let him go to the corner and take the minute," Paul said. "But if that's me in Rico's corner I'm steaming with that stoppage.
" Verhoeven had just one boxing fight to his name before taking on the unbeaten Usyk, having spent the best of his fighting career in kickboxing. Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou himself crossed into boxing from MMA when he took on Tyson Fury in 2023, losing a controversial split decision after dropping the Briton. Ngannou agreed with Paul's view of the fight, saying: "Outsiders will never win, trust me I know, but Rico was the winner tonight.
Period. " Retired light-middleweight world champion Sergio Mora called the incident an "embarrassing stoppage". "Somehow the referee robbed both fighters tonight by robbing Rico from glory and Usyk from getting comeback from behind [and a]12th-round knockout," he said.