Rico Verhoeven releases statement following loss to Oleksandr Usyk

Rico Verhoeven believes the scorecards did the talking in his clash against Oleksandr Usyk. Verhoeven challenged Usyk for the WBC heavyweight title in front of the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt, on Saturday. Going in as a +1400 underdog, Verhoeven shocked the world by dominating the early rounds against Usyk, even stunning the unified heavyweight champion.

However, Usyk gradually started landing in the later rounds and dropped Verhoeven with an uppercut in the 11th. While Verhoeven returned to his feet, Usyk cornered him with another barrage of shots. Referee Mark Lyson then unexpectedly stopped the fight with a second left in the 11th round, declaring a stoppage win for Usyk.

The controversial stoppage is facing widespread backlash in the world of combat sports. Verhoeven says the lesson he learned from his fight is never to get comfortable and always stay focused. “Never get comfortable,” Verhoeven told