Oleksandr Usyk's future opponent, kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, has revealed his plan for his second professional boxing fight, which he will hold against the Ukrainian in Egypt on May 23.
At a press conference on April 14 in London, the 37-year-old Dutchman expressed confidence in his own victory and named the prerequisites for knocking out the current unified world champion:
“When I land my best punch on him, of course he'll go down. We're 20kg apart. He's a rocking heavyweight. I'm a natural super heavyweight. That's the difference.”
“This is what happens when I land my best shot cleanly. And if I don't, we're going to win.”
The Ukrainian briefly replied to his opponent's accusations: “We'll see.”
Verhoeven also talked about how his experience in kickboxing, where the Dutchman held the world champion title for years, will help him. His only professional boxing fight took place back in 2014, when he knocked out Hungarian Janos Finfera in the second round.