When it was announced this past Friday that Oleksandr Usyk will defend his WBC heavyweight title against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at Egypt's Pyramids of Giza, the news came as a shock to many. Although Verhoeven was heavily linked to a Feb. 14 bout with Anthony Joshua, the shift to fighting boxing's pound-for-pound No. 1 in Verhoeven's second pro boxing match was unexpected.

Verhoeven detailed to Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" on Tuesday his journey from leaving GLORY Kickboxing this past November to landing a surprise fight with the unified heavyweight champ.

"I just wanted to do big stuff that hasn't been done before," Verhoeven said of his mindset after leaving GLORY. "So either make a crazy crossover to the UFC or a big crossover fight in boxing or whatever — I just wanted to see all options. So that's where the decision came from. I think we did it all within GLORY."

Verhoeven said he discussed a major boxing match for the first time when he was at one of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury fights in Saudi Arabia in 2024 with world-renowned actor Jason Statham.

"My good friend Jason Statham was [at Usyk vs. Fury]," Verhoeven said. "So we were talking and he said, 'Oh yeah, man, [boxing] is the place to be. This is where you got to be.' He said, 'Let's do it.' So I think he slowly introduced me there.

"It was about a year later, the [Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight this past September] was coming up, and I saw Jason was there, so I texted [him], 'Yo bro, you at the fight? Have fun.' He said he was crazy excited and couldn't wait for it. So I said, 'Yo, we talked about it. We should do something [in boxing].' He said, 'Yep, I'm going to bring it up.'"

Statham proposed the idea of a major boxing match involving Verhoeven to Saudi Arabian fight financier Turki Alalshikh, who was receptive to the idea and said there would be further communication with Verhoeven's team.

"They said, 'When you come in, you're a champion, so you have to face somebody with a name. And you have to promise us you're not going to disappoint. You're not going to be out in one round,'" Verhoeven recalled. "I said, 'What do you mean? I've been boxing for the last 15 years on the highest level. I got this.'"

Verhoeven was asked by Alalshikh's team who he wanted to face in his first boxing match in 12 years — he knocked out Janos Finfera (then 0-5) in 2014 — and he informed them he'd be open to fighting anybody. With former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua needing a comeback fight of sorts after more than a year out of the ring, surgery, and just a Jake Paul bout to his name since, Joshua was the name put forward.

Joshua vs. Verhoeven, however, did not take place due to the unfortunate events that occurred outside of the ring late last year.

"I finished [shooting a] movie at the beginning of December," Verhoeven said. "Went straight into camp and worked out through the whole of December. I had already planned a training camp in Spain for the whole month of January because the fight [with Joshua] was going to be February 14. Then the accident happened."

Joshua was involved in a fatal car crash in December that devastatingly took the lives of two of his closest friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. The crash left "AJ" with physical and emotional injuries that ruled out a fight for him in 2026's first quarter.

Verhoeven, however, continued to train and stay ready, in the hopes of eventually landing a big name.

"We got on the phone and heard the fight might happen, but 'AJ' needs some time to recover physically and mentally. Probably somewhere in March, we would hear more about it," Verhoeven said. "OK, no worries. Totally understand and totally respect the situation. I was still in Spain. We came to the gym and my boxing trainer, Peter Fury [the uncle of Tyson Fury], said, 'Hey, I was thinking — what about fighting Oleksandr Usyk?'"

Verhoeven was a fan of Fury's suggestion and proposed the idea to Alalshikh's team as an undisputed boxing champion vs. undisputed kickboxing champion type matchup. 

"They said one thing: 'I love it. Let's do it.'"

Alalshikh's team managed to finalize the bout for May 23, and to add more intrigue to the contest, it landed at the Pyramids of Giza, which is the only remaining of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Verhoeven will enter the fight with Usyk as a sizable underdog, but he cautioned fans against ruling out his chances, explaining that he has been training in boxing with Peter Fury for 15 years and was even a sparring partner for Tyson Fury when Tyson used his uncle as a coach more than a decade ago.

Verhoeven told Uncrowned that he also had discussions with the UFC and had received an offer to fight Derrick Lewis on the first Paramount+ card, UFC 324. Verhoeven ultimately decided against it because the financial elements of the offer to face Joshua — and then Usyk — were substantially better.

The inaugural Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title will be on the line when Jai Opetaia clashes with Brandon Glanton on Sunday night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. 

However, whether Opetaia's IBF world championship is up for grabs at Zuffa Boxing 4 — and whether he will remain the IBF cruiserweight titleholder come Monday morning — is yet to be determined. 

A spokesperson for the IBF told Uncrowned: 

"The IBF is still deliberating on the entirety of the situation regarding Jai Opetaia’s bout vs. Brandon Glanton. We are not making a public statement at this time."

Zuffa Boxing — the entity formed by Saudi Arabian fight financier Turki Alalshikh, UFC CEO Dana White and WWE president Nick Khan — inked Opetaia to a promotional deal in January. The move came as a surprise because Zuffa does not recognize boxing's four sanctioning bodies, namely the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF. 

Opetaia, however, has insisted that his goal is still to pick up the belts and become undisputed champion under Zuffa. The Australian has since admitted he isn't sure how this will happen due to Zuffa's policies. 

Uncrowned spoke to Zuffa-signed heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba just days after his TKO win over Charles Martin in February on Zuffa Boxing 3, and Ajagba too was unclear on whether he could fight for sanctioning body titles. After being pressed, Ajagba admitted that it was ultimately Zuffa's decision. 

"It depends on who [Zuffa] work with," Ajagba told Uncrowned. "Zuffa is trying to grow their own belt. I don't know about the [sanctioning bodies]. I want those belts, but at the same time, I've signed with Zuffa. It's Zuffa's decision to make for those belts."

It is thought that the IBF and Zuffa have yet to reach an agreement on whether Opetaia's title can be on the line and how it would be displayed and supervised during fight week and on fight night. Zuffa — and its parent company TKO — is reluctant to cooperate with sanctioning bodies, with WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman recently detailing to Uncrowned his unpleasant experience during the TKO-promoted Terence Crawford vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez bout.

According to IBF Rule 5.H., Opetaia will be stripped of his cruiserweight championship if he fights Glanton at the 200-pound cruiserweight limit and the bout is not sanctioned for the IBF championship. 

"If a Champion participates in an unsanctioned contest within his prescribed weight limit, the title will be declared vacant whether the Champion wins or loses the bout."

Just 10 days after Ryan Garcia's win over Mario Barrios, Golden Boy Promotions has secured another significant victory — except this time, in the courtroom against one of its own star fighters, Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Judge Cristina D. Silva granted Golden Boy's motion for interim injunctive relief against Ortiz and to compel arbitration on Monday. Furthermore, the Nevada judge denied Golden Boy's motion to dismiss Ortiz Jr.'s claim, instead staying the action pending arbitration. This follows a Feb. 20 hearing where the sides appeared before Judge Silva to argue whether the case should head to arbitration and whether Ortiz Jr. should be allowed to proceed with his career in the interim.

The ruling arrives just hours after Ortiz filed an emergency motion with the court requesting confirmation that the 14-day temporary restraining order granted by Judge Silva had expired. Silva confirmed that the TRO had expired, but Ortiz is not free to negotiate and sign a Jaron "Boots" Ennis fight and/or a promotional contract because of a fresh injunction granted by the court.

Said Silva in her ruling obtained by Uncrowned:

"Further, because I find that this action is arbitrable, injunctive relief is necessary to preserve the status quo. Thus, I also grant Golden Boy’s request for interim injunctive relief to allow for meaningful arbitration, so I hereby order that Ortiz may not negotiate or contract with third parties for future fights before the arbitrator addresses the parties’ dispute set forth in this action."

Ortiz signed a three-year agreement with Golden Boy in May 2024. Under the contract, Ortiz has the right to terminate the deal if Golden Boy’s “distribution relationship” with DAZN ends. Ortiz would not be allowed to terminate the deal if Golden Boy had already agreed on all material terms of a new exclusive distribution deal and was merely negotiating the long-form agreement. The contract required Ortiz to exercise any termination right within 30 days of learning of the triggering event.

Golden Boy’s formal contract with DAZN expired on Dec. 31, after which Ortiz exercised what he contends was his contractual right to terminate the agreement on Jan. 8. Golden Boy disputes that Ortiz is a free agent, arguing that despite the expiration of the DAZN contract, it maintained an active distribution relationship with the broadcaster and had agreed upon material terms for a new broadcast deal. The promoter has also pointed to a Golden Boy event that aired on DAZN in January and one that is scheduled to stream in March as evidence that its distribution relationship had not truly ended.

Ortiz filed suit against Golden Boy on Jan. 16, seeking declaratory relief confirming that his promotional agreement had been validly terminated. It is now up to an arbitrator to interpret the disputed contractual language — namely, the definition of a "distribution relationship" — and to determine whether Ortiz lawfully terminated the agreement.

Ortiz and Golden Boy are required to file a joint notice with the court on Sept. 2, 2026, or within five days after an arbitrator has reached a decision in their dispute, whichever comes first.

Should Ortiz be successful in the arbitration, he will be a free agent and able to negotiate and sign for an Ennis bout. If Golden Boy prevails, Ortiz is contractually bound to the company until at least August 2027.

Either way, it appears highly unlikely that we see Ortiz and Ennis share the ring next — unless Ortiz and Golden Boy resolve matters in a timely fashion, which is highly unlikely.