Six fights for the Usyk-Verhoeven cast to take next.
On Saturday, boxing fans witnessed one of the most shocking spectacles to ever take place on a Riyadh Season card–or indeed in the sport’s recent history–when Oleksandr Usyk controversially overcame a mighty struggle with kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven to officially retain the WBC heavyweight title.
Up until the 11th round, Verhoeven had given the massively fancied Ukrainian absolute fits, and it looked for all the word like he was heading for a gargantuan upset win.
Alas, the Dutchman was dropped and halted in the penultimate frame, though the circumstances surrounding the ending are still being debated three days later.
What everyone can agree on is that Verhoeven performed exceptionally well, so well that quite a few people in boxing have been calling for Usyk’s retirement.
However, in all likelihood, he will fight on. And in that spirit, speculating over who the standout fighters on the card could face next seems like a fun thing to do, so let’s do exactly that.
Here are six fights that could be made after Saturday’s Usyk-Verhoeven show.
6. Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Justis Huni.
He may have lost on the night–and in pretty much the most devastating fashion, at that–but Richard Torrez Jr. (14-1, 12 KOs) will remain popular amongst American fans who will still believe he could do well in the future.
The fact remains that the former Olympic silver medallist is still only 26 years old, meaning that he certainly has time to pick up the pieces.
However, several changes–both to his camp and his style–will likely be required, and an opponent like Justis Huni (13-1, 7 KOs) could very well be the right amount of everything in all the right ways for Torrez to return against.
Australia’s Huni suffered a knockout loss of his own to Fabio Wardley in July of last year, but returned last month to post a competitive decision over Frazer Clarke.
He is a very skilled boxer, but his lack of truly concussive power and what many consider to be a suspect chin have been deemed as serious roadblocks to progressing to the highest level.
Ranked highly enough to be a respectable win, but perhaps flawed enough to be a relatively comfortable one, it’s certainly one for Torrez to consider.
5. Frank Sanchez vs. Richard Riakporhe.
From Richard Torrez Jr. to the man who banished him from The Ring‘s heavyweight rankings, Frank Sanchez (26-1 (1), 19 KOs) reignited his career by icing the American inside two rounds to win their IBF title eliminator.
It was that eliminator that Sanchez had struggled to find an opponent for, with several big names turning the Cuban down (including Torrez himself at first). But when the opportunity finally arrived, he seized it with both hands.
As a result, he has found his way back into hypothetical matchups, so how about this one?
Having just dealt with one Richard, here’s another. Richard ‘The Midnight Train’ Riakporhe (20-1, 16 KOs) recently won the British heavyweight title in a destruction of Jeamie TKV, having also held the belt at cruiserweight.
Now 36 years old, Riakporhe needs to start getting some big opportunities. And against Sanchez, he would certainly have that.
It seems like an odd pairing at first, but taking a look at the current rankings reveals it actually makes quite a bit of sense. Plus, they’re both huge punchers, and when has that type of matchup ever disappointed?
4. Jack Catterall vs. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero.
The only fight that really makes sense right now. In his masterful display in beating Shakhram Giyasov, Jack ‘El Gato’ Catterall (33-2, 14 KOs) secured the WBA (Regular) welterweight title and seemingly a shot at Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero (17-2, 13 KOs), who is currently the WBA (Super) champion.
With the WBA directly ordering this match, it seems only a case of if Romero will choose to face Catterall or vacate his strap. But in the event of the former, Britain’s Catterall will get a second shot at becoming world champion (the first having been a very controversial defeat to Josh Taylor at super-lightweight).
With that said, this is the most obvious placement on this list, so there isn’t much need to explain why it should happen next.
3. Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Jaime Munguia.
There are so many good fights that could be made at super-middleweight, but this one seems the most realistic at the moment.
Having destroyed Alem Begic to become WBO champion, Hamzah ‘The Quiet Storm’ Sheeraz (23-0-1, 19 KOs) placed himself amongst the titleholders at 168 pounds. In doing so, he opened up a number of doors for his next fight.
Jaime Munguia (46-2, 35 KOs) recently became WBA champion by beating Armando Reséndiz. And with many speculating he will appear on the upcoming “Mexico vs. The World” card in September, a unification with Sheeraz makes a lot of sense.
Plus, it would serve as a logical step towards a fight with Canelo Álvarez, provided Sheeraz beats Munguia. This is because Canelo and Munguia are now part of the same camp.
However, it is possible that this won’t be the very next fight, given that Sheeraz is wanting a title defence in England. Still, we can dream.
2. Rico Verhoeven vs. Zhilei Zhang.
This is the one that will likely raise some eyebrows.
The truth is, we need to see just how good Rico ‘The King of Kickboxing’ Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO) is at…well…boxing. We, of course, saw him give Usyk a terrible time, but it wouldn’t be the first occasion where a fighter from a separate sport came into boxing, gave a far-better-than-expected performance against the heavyweight champion, and then got dispatched with ease in their next boxing match.
Simply put, if the Usyk vs. Verhoeven rematch is to be sold, we must know just what type of ability the Dutchman truly possesses in boxing.
In Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs), he will have a big, powerful, and largely unmoving target in front of him. Now 43 and inactive for over a year, Zhang still carries danger and credibility.
He has been figured out before, but of course, only by boxers. Only by some of the best heavyweights in the world, in fact.
If Verhoeven can do the same, doesn’t that make an Usyk rematch so much more appealing?
1. Oleksandr Usyk vs. Agit Kabayel.
While Verhoeven definitely deserves his rematch, it is this fight that should probably take place next.
If there’s a man to officially topple Oleksandr Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs), many have pointed towards it being Agit Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs), the Ukrainian’s WBC mandatory.
Big, powerful, and possessing a relentless body-punching style, Kabayel poses a type of challenge that has proven to trouble Usyk before. Of course, Verhoeven would be the most recent example.
The WBC have already stated that this fight should happen next, and Frank Warren (Kabayel’s promoter) has been very adament on that himself.
Now with a new air of vulnerability, Usyk will be looking to prove that he still has plenty left to defeat one of the division’s top contenders. Kabayel will be looking to prove that he doesn’t.
In short, it sells itself.
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