Rico Verhoeven issues first statement after controversial Oleksandr Usyk loss, disputed referee stoppage

Rico Verhoeven wants his shot at redemption against boxing’s pound-for-pound king. Verhoeven, a kickboxing legend and former GLORY Kickboxing heavyweight champion, called for a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in his first remarks Saturday following the chaotic end to the pair’s WBC heavyweight title clash. Fighting amid a backdrop of Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, Verhoeven nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history, matching Usyk punch-for-punch and winning on many observers’ scorecards before referee Mark Lyson controversially stopped the contest late in the 11th round .

Verhoeven’s full statement: Leave emotions out of it. Read the cards. One second left heading into the 12th and final round.

Onwards and upwards! Respect to [Usyk], it was an honor to share the ring with you. Let’s run it back!

[Turki Alalshikh] View this post on Instagram Verhoeven was more than a +1500 underdog on some sportsbooks entering Saturday’s title contest, and it makes sense why. Despite his war chest of kickboxing accolades, the 37-year-old Dutchman was just 1-0 as a professional boxer, whereas Usyk strolled into Egypt as a two-division undisputed world champion, Olympic gold medalist and the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the entire sport .