GIZA — Oleksandr Usyk will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The bout will air live on DAZN as a pay-per-view priced at $59.99.

Usyk enters the fight with a professional boxing record of 24 wins and no losses, including 15 knockouts. He defeated Daniel Dubois in July 2025 to claim the undisputed heavyweight championship and has not competed in a professional boxing match in nearly a year. Usyk also holds the WBA (Super) and IBF heavyweight world titles, but only the WBC belt will be on the line against Verhoeven. The WBA and IBF titles will become vacant if Usyk loses.

Verhoeven, 37, is known as "The King of Kickboxing" and reigned as the GLORY Kickboxing Heavyweight Champion for 12 years, defending his title 13 times. According to Glory, he compiled a kickboxing record of 66 wins and 10 losses with 21 knockouts. His last kickboxing fight was a unanimous decision victory over Artem Vakhitov in June. Verhoeven has had one previous professional boxing bout, a knockout victory in 2014, and is training with Peter Fury, uncle of Tyson Fury, with whom Verhoeven has sparred.

The scheduled fight will consist of 12 three-minute rounds. Roy Baker, President of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations, addressed how kickboxers adapt to boxing rules. "Where they are at a disadvantage is they normally fight in three different ranges where a boxer fights in one range," Baker said. He added, "Legs have between 8 and 10 times the power of your hands."

Matt Skelton, who fought Anthony Joshua for a world heavyweight title in 2014, assessed Verhoeven's prospects. "If Verhoeven lasts 12 rounds with Usyk, that in itself would be a great achievement," Skelton said.

The card includes three world-title fights. Hamzah Sheeraz will fight Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super-middleweight title, and Mizuki Hiruta will fight Mai Soliman for the WBO super-flyweight title. Jack Catterall will face Shakhram Giyasov in a welterweight bout, Frank Sanchez will meet Richard Torrez Jr. at heavyweight, and Daniel Lapin will fight Benjamin Mendes Tani at light heavyweight. The preliminary card features Basem Mamdouh against Jamar Talley at cruiserweight, Sultan Almohammed against Dedy Imprax at lightweight, Omar Hikal against Ali Sserunkuma at welterweight, and Mohamed Mabrouk Yehya against Michael Kalyalya at middleweight.

The boxing card begins at 10 a.m. ET, with five bouts before the main event. The main card starts at 12:00 p.m. ET, and the Usyk vs. Verhoeven fight is slated for 5:48 p.m. ET. The first fight on DAZN pay-per-view begins at 19:00 BST, with ringwalks expected at about 22:30 BST and the main event at about 23:00 BST. Radio commentary will begin at 22:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website and app, with live text commentary starting at 21:00 BST.