Rico Verhoeven reveals the way he preserved late mother’s memory.
For those who were previously unaware of him, boxing fans have gotten to understand the type of person Rico Verhoeven is during the build-up to his showdown against Oleksandr Usyk.
It is clear from all available evidence that he is an intelligent, articulate, and well-spoken individual who also happens to be an all-time great in his profession of kickboxing.
All the same, if Verhoeven were to defeat the unified heavyweight boxing champion tomorrow night at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, he would ascend to a level of brilliance that would see his name truly immortalised throughout combat sports history.
People have already spoken of it as being one of the greatest upsets our sport will ever see if it were to take place, the type of victory that would prove something about Verhoeven as a man and as a fighter.
It remains to be seen if the Dutchman can pull off such a gargantuan feat. However, when it comes to his laid-back demeanour, what makes it all the more impressive is that Verhoeven experienced tragedy earlier this year, something he opened up about ahead of his big task tomorrow.
“Within this camp, my mother passed away”, Verhoeven told Matchroom Boxing. “Then, like, how is that a positive thing? It is not, but I have to do something with it to make it easier for me to cope with.”
He then explained what he did to preserve his late mother’s memory, saying, “So, she passed away, and we had to clean out her house. And what happened is, we came by pictures of her being in Egypt. Like, how crazy is that?
“I wanted to recreate that exact picture. I wanted to be in that spot where she was 30 years prior, and being there was…I don’t know, man. It was just…it was so special. It was so special.”
It is something that will no doubt make Verhoeven’s bout on Saturday all the more valuable.
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