The WBC Board of Governors has officially sanctioned Oleksandr Usyk's upcoming bout against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven as a legitimate WBC Heavyweight Championship defense, reversing an earlier position that had cast doubt on the title's status heading into the crossover clash.
The fight, billed as "Glory in Giza," is set for Saturday, May 23, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt — the first professional boxing event ever staged at the ancient landmark — and will stream live and exclusively on DAZN PPV.
The WBC's green light stems from a voluntary defense allowance granted to Usyk at the organization's 63rd Annual Convention in Bangkok, Thailand. Following a petition submitted to the Board, the governors voted in favor of recognizing the bout as a sanctioned title defense. However, the ruling comes with a condition: Usyk must face mandatory challenger Emanuel Kabayel next, without exception, following the Verhoeven fight.
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) enters the fight having last competed in July 2025, when he knocked out Daniel Dubois in the fifth round to reclaim the undisputed heavyweight championship. The 39-year-old Ukrainian made history in 2024 by becoming the first undisputed heavyweight champion of boxing's four-belt era after defeating Tyson Fury twice.
Verhoeven, 36, brings one of combat sports' most decorated resumes to the ring — just not in boxing. The Dutch striker held the GLORY Heavyweight Kickboxing title for a staggering 4,220 days, registering 13 consecutive title defenses and a 27-fight winning streak under the GLORY banner. His professional boxing record, however, stands at just 1-0 (1 KO), a second-round knockout of Janos Finfera back in 2014. He also holds a 1-0 MMA record from a 2015 TKO win.
The contrast with Tyson Fury's 2023 crossover fight against Francis Ngannou is notable, as Ariel Helwani pointed out on X. That bout was explicitly not contested for Fury's WBC belt, as the WBC ruled Ngannou unrated and ineligible — granting Fury only "special permission" to take the fight. Usyk's arrangement is structurally different: the voluntary defense designation negotiated in Bangkok provided a sanctioned pathway for the title to be on the line against a non-ranked opponent.