Oleksandr Usyk v Rico Verhoeven: How to watch the fight on Virgin TV

Since Oleksandr Usyk stepped up to the heavyweight division, and became a unified and then undisputed champion, there’s a sense that he’s been toying with the other contenders. He’s nailed every defence, whether the opponent was Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury or Daniel Dubois. He’s vacated a couple of titles when he wasn’t tempted by the mandatory defence – almost as if he wanted to let the others fight among themselves while he waited for them to challenge him again, so he could retake the belt at his own pace.

But few could have seen his latest move coming. Rather than stage another unification bout against one of the leading heavyweights, Usyk has decided to put his WBC title on the line in a 12-round match-up with kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven. Taking place in the Giza Necropolis, with the pyramids as a backdrop, this event promises an incredible spectacle before a punch is even thrown.

Intrigued? We bet you are. And we can only imagine what the boxers who’d quite like a shot at that belt think of this tactic. The good news is you can watch this exceptional fight live on DAZN with Virgin Media, starting at 4pm on Saturday 23 May. Here’s everything you need to know.

Usyk has already carved out his place in the history of boxing: as well as achieving world and Olympic gold medals as an amateur, he’s been undisputed champion at two weights (cruiserweight and heavyweight), and is the first male boxer to become a three-time undisputed champ in the four-belt era. He’s also served in the Ukrainian armed forces and is a qualified lawyer. A high achiever, to say the least.

While many of the world’s biggest boxers are their own foremost hype men and can’t stop talking about themselves, their opponents, their reputations and what they’ll do in the ring, Usyk is comparatively taciturn. He is partial to the occasional gnomic but profound utterance such as: “Motivation is good but discipline is better.” Motivation comes and goes. For him, it’s about working every day.

Which makes the latest turn of events all the more surprising. We’ve seen unorthodox bouts in recent times, like Fury’s match against MMA star Francis Ngannou in 2023, but Usyk doesn’t seem like a fighter who would have his head turned by such a suggestion. It turns out he’s incorporated kickboxing into his training, and he’s interested to see how that translates in the boxing ring against a real legend of that sport. But mainly, he says, “A lot of time I do what other people need. You have to box this person, or this or this. I say OK. Now I do what I want.”

Many fans will know next to nothing about Verhoeven, who has exactly one pro boxing fight on his record before he turned away from the sport to embrace kickboxing instead. But there’s no doubt he’s an all-time kickboxing great. Competing in the Glory promotion, he held the heavyweight championship for more than 11 years straight, defending it a record 13 times, and has been the number one heavyweight since the rankings were established in 2014.

The 6ft 5in Dutchman was in talks to fight Joshua before the British fighter’s devastating car crash put paid to that idea. But Verhoeven wasn’t in the mood to let the idea fade away. As he recalls it, he said to his team, “I’ve been the undisputed champion the last 12 years within my discipline. Oleksandr Usyk has been the undisputed champion of cruiserweight and came up [to heavyweight]. Undefeated for a long time. What about undisputed versus undisputed?”

Verhoeven is known as a technical fighter with a wide range of kicks – which obviously won’t help him much in a boxing bout. However, his boxing links are strong: his trainer is Peter Fury, uncle of Britain’s former world champ Tyson. And he’s worked with Tyson himself as well, crediting the “Gypsy King” with helping him improve his jab. Will it be powerful enough to make an impact on Usyk?

Usyk, typically, is not saying much. Once he’d established that his main reason for fighting Verhoeven was that, er, he wanted to fight Verhoeven, he offered few thoughts about the fight itself. "For me it’s a challenge. Rico is a great guy, a dangerous guy.” He added that he’d been eating a lot of pasta.

The more garrulous Verhoeven made up for his opponent’s taciturnity. “When I land my best punch on him, of course he will go down. There is a 20-kilo weight difference. He’s a built-up cruiserweight – I’m a natural heavyweight. That’s the difference. That’s what will happen when I land my best shot clean.” He also revealed that it was actor Jason Statham, a friend of his, who persuaded the organisers to give him the opportunity.

Others have had some choice words. Fabio Wardley spoke out against the fight, saying, “I don’t feel like it’s a real genuine challenge nor someone that deserves the shot. But I do concede Usyk is at a point in his career where he’s able to do what he wants for a bit.” Of course, Wardley was hoping to have a shot at Usyk himself, although his recent defeat to Dubois may have scuppered that for now anyway.

Who will win? Former champ Andy Ruiz Jr, like most experts, says Usyk. “He’s an experienced fighter. He’s the undisputed heavyweight champion. I heard a lot of people saying for him to be careful against Verhoeven. He’s no joke. But I think Usyk beats him, especially if he’s not using his legs.”

Up-and-coming US heavyweight Jarrell Miller has a curveball of an opinion. “I’m gonna throw one up in the air and say Rico, man! I came up on the kickboxing scene with Rico – phenomenal fighter. If you want to go by the statistics, yes, the fight favours Usyk, but I’m going with my boy Rico, man!”

With Fury v Joshua scheduled to happen later in 2026, and newly minted WBO champ Dubois probably next in line to fight the winner, this showdown is unlikely to have much effect on the immediate future of the heavyweight boxing division. Unless, of course, Verhoeven can spring a major shock and use his size, power and kickboxing nous – plus that Fury-trained jab – to defeat the undefeated Ukrainian and claim the WBC title. Usyk will still hold two belts, but that would mean a serious new contender on the scene for everyone to deal with.

Compare Usyk’s undefeated pro boxing record against Verhoeven’s impressive kickboxing history…

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You can see this fight on DAZN with Virgin Media from 4pm on Saturday 23 May 2026. It’s available to order from 10am on Tuesday 19 May in HD only and costs £24.99. And even better, this payment will also entitle you to a month’s subscription to DAZN, allowing you to enjoy a month of superb sporting action on DAZN.

The event cannot be recorded and will be repeated on Sunday 24 May at 7am and 4pm (last playout).

The purchase will include access to the fight and will also enable you to redeem one month’s access to DAZN – please see details at point of purchase. Promotion is owned and operated by DAZN.

To watch this event, you must have a TiVo® box, Virgin TV V6 box (powered by TiVo®), a Virgin TV 360 box or Stream box.

Customers with our TiVo® and V6 boxes: Go to Home > On Demand > Live Events. Press the red button then choose the event and follow the instructions on screen. A TV PIN may not be required. To view your booking, once purchased, go to On Demand > Live Events > Event Bookings.

Customers with our Virgin TV 360 or Stream boxes: Go to Home > Pay Per View events rail. Press OK, then choose the event and follow the instructions on screen. A TV PIN may not be required. To view your booking, once purchased, go to Home > Pay Per View events rail.