Wll the real Oleksandr Usyk please stand up

“They say it was tense watching my fight with Rico😄 Guys, I just didn’t want you to be bored, come on.”

Oleksandr Usyk

Say what, Oleksandr?

Is the undefeated heavyweight champion implying that he carried his opponent or allowed a fighter with one boxing win to get off to a big lead and then come back and score a dramatic victory last weekend?

Shades of Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. Mayweather shockingly lost several rounds to upstart McGregor, then knocked him out.

Verhoeven might be a boxing novice, but not a fighting one. Kickboxing is his thing. He held a title for 12 years and compiled a record of 66 wins and 10 losses.

Usyk’s performance, or lack thereof, certainly begs answers. He was sluggish and not in boxing shape. He wasn’t nearly as sharp as he usually is, and Verhoeven tagged him often.

“I can’t believe what I’m watching,” said Shaukur Stevenson during the fight.

He wasn’t alone.

Where was the guy who had beaten Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury a couple of times, and dominated Daniel Dubois twice?

He wasn’t there. Verhoeven was. He had nothing to lose. Usyk had everything to lose, but he apparently didn’t think it would be to this guy. He was slower than usual.

I admittedly didn’t pay attention to the buildup, if that’s what it was called. When I did eyeball something, it was obvious Usyk’s training camp didn’t have the same edge. He looked like a guy on vacation.

When he’s dialed in, his face is impassive. Here, he looked like he was going through the motions.

Some speculated that Usyk had gotten old in the ring that night in Egypt. He’s 39, but I don’t buy it. It was his attitude going in that likely got him in trouble. Usyk wanted an easy one. A fight he wouldn’t have to kill himself to get ready for. He’d train, but not that seriously. He’d do enough to win, which shouldn’t be a problem.

He said last year, “The toughest opponent is me. A lot of times, you don’t want to train. You don’t want to box. You have to fight with that person.”

Usyk had been extremely active (for nowadays)

Six fights in five years against the top fighters in the division. The ultimate road warrior, He won them all to become the unified heavyweight champion.

Verhoeven only had one fight as a professional boxer. One, but as a kickboxer, he was the champ for 12 years and had compiled a record of  66-10. The guy could fight. He was awkward, busy, and big. Usyk looked ill-prepared. He couldn’t get himself ready mentally.

And there were issues in his camp. It was reported after the fight that trainer Yuriy Tkachenko and manager Egis Klimas had departed. Why? Shocking news. This is not what people expect from a professional of Usyk’s caliber.

If I were advising Usyk, I’d tell him to fight Verhoeven again—time to prove the doubters wrong.

Get in Usyk-type shape.

If he does that, he’ll whip this guy with ease.