The combat sports landscape has evolved so much that a 37-year-old Dutch kickboxer is getting a chance to become a boxing heavyweight champion.
Rico Verhoeven will face Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday in a scheduled 12-round bout being staged at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. If Verhoeven pulls off what would be a historic upset, he’ll take Usyk’s WBC belt.
Verhoeven isn’t the only kickboxer in the spotlight. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has scheduled an exhibition bout next month in Greece against Mike Zambidis, who like Verhoeven is a former kickboxing champion.
Here’s some more information:
Who are these guys?
Verhoeven was a superstar in Glory Kickboxing, one of the sport’s biggest promotions.
The 6-foot-5 Dutchman compiled a career kickboxing record of 66-10 with 21 KOs, according to Glory. His last fight was in June — a unanimous decision over Artem Vakhitov. Title fights are usually five three-minute rounds.
Verhoeven is training with Peter Fury, uncle of Tyson Fury. He’s also sparred in the past with the former heavyweight champion. Verhoeven is friends with action star Jason Statham.
He’s had one pro boxing bout — a knockout victory in 2014.
The 45-year-old Zambidis was an icon of the K-1 circuit, but he hasn’t fought in the sport since 2015. At 5-foot-6, Zambidis was known for his aggressive style and knockout power. Of his 158 kickboxing victories, 87 were KOs. He had a boxing bout in 2019 — a four-round unanimous decision win.
How have kickboxers fared in boxing?
Former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko won several kickboxing titles before switching to boxing. He’s the longtime mayor of Kyiv.
British heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Matt Skelton were successful kickboxers. In boxing, Whyte challenged for the WBC world heavyweight title in 2022, losing to Tyson Fury. Skelton, who retired after losing to Anthony Joshua in 2014, had fought for a world title in 2008.
Samart Payakaroon, who was an elite Muay Thai champion, switched to boxing in the early 1980s and became the WBC super bantamweight world champion.
Boxing champions Lauren Price of Wales and Chantelle Cameron of England were both successful kickboxers.
Not every transition is smooth, of course, especially when you start at the top.
Tenshin Nasukawa was a champion kickboxer when he faced Mayweather in a 2018 exhibition bout in Japan. Mayweather, then 41, dropped Nasukawa three times in the first round and danced in the neutral corner as the young Japanese fighter’s team threw in the towel. Nasukawa has since embarked on a boxing career and last November fought for the WBC bantamweight title, losing to Takuma Inoue.
How hard is transition from kickboxing to boxing?
Matt Skelton had to quickly learn to plant his feet more.
In kickboxing, “a lot of our movement on the outside is done on our toes … to avoid getting heavy kicks to our legs. When I came to boxing, we’re told to plant our feet, everything is from the waist,” he told The Associated Press.
It’s hard to account for inexperience, though. Skelton, who had switched to boxing in his mid-30s, said he was too one dimensional in his 2008 world title fight against then-WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev, who was “able to adapt, because of his experience at that level and his amateur experience.”
If Verhoeven lasts 12 rounds with Usyk, Skelton said, “that in itself would be a great achievement.”
Roy Baker, president of the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO), said kickboxers must adjust to “range” — the distance between themselves and their opponents. In kickboxing, they have different ranges for hands, legs and knees.
“Where they are at a disadvantage is they normally fight in three different ranges where a boxer fights in one range,” Baker told The AP.
On the plus side, kickboxers can absorb heavy blows. Legs, Baker said, “have between 8 and 10 times the power of your hands.”
Will kickboxing become an Olympic sport?
Kickboxing made the shortlist for inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Games but ultimately wasn’t selected.
“It was still a privilege to be in the final list,” Baker said.
The next shot is the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.
“I went down to Brisbane, we did our pitch,” Baker told The AP. “We just wait, everybody waits.”
Kickboxing was added to the World Games in 2017 as an invitational sport and has been a part of the official program in each edition since. The World Games is sometimes seen as a testing ground for future Olympic inclusion.
Kickboxing features a variety of disciplines, contact rules and skill levels to encourage widespread participation.
“We have a huge youth following and that’s something of great interest to the IOC,” Baker said.
Usyk’s belts
Usyk also holds the WBA and IBF belts but Verhoeven can’t win those Saturday. If Usyk loses, the WBA says it would “review his status and determine the next course of action regarding the heavyweight championship.” The IBF has indicated that an Usyk loss would result in the belt being vacated.
The fight is available on DAZN pay per view.
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AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
