Rico Verhoeven Appeal Denied After Commission Upholds Oleksandr Usyk Stoppage Loss

Rico Verhoeven has lost his appeal over the stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk, with the commission upholding the result of their heavyweight world title fight at the foot of Egypt's Pyramids of Giza.

“- Published The referee at the centre of the controversial fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven last month told a boxing commission he had seen enough to stop the bout in the 11th round before the bell sounded”

BBC

The fight was stopped in the 11th round after the bell had sounded, even though two judges had it 95-95 even and the third had it 96-94 in Verhoeven's favour heading into the eleventh and penultimate stanza.

BBC

In the Mirror’s account, Verhoeven said: "On May 24, we filed a formal protest because we genuinely believed there was a serious question around the way the fight was stopped."

In the BBC’s account, the referee at the centre of the controversy told a boxing commission he had seen enough to stop the bout in the 11th round before the bell sounded, and the commission agreed the fight had been concluded after the bell sounded but said it had no bearing on the outcome.

The BBC reported that the Middle East Professional Boxing Commission said referee Mark Lyson acted in good faith "and with the paramount objective of boxer safety," and it said it could have only overturned the result had the referee not acted that way.

The commission also stressed Lyson’s authority, saying "Under its rules the referee is the sole arbiter of the contest and retains the full and unfettered right to stop the contest at any time," even if the stoppage was recorded as occurring one second before the bell.

Boxing News 24/7

Verhoeven, in the Mirror, argued the ruling confirmed "the bell ending round 11 had already sounded before the referee physically waved off the fight," while the commission’s view was that none of those findings changed the outcome.

In talkSPORT’s version of Verhoeven’s statement, he added that "The ruling answered the legal questions, but it left another question hanging in the air," as he pushed for the fans to get the chance to see how the fight was meant to end.

The ruling leaves Usyk’s victory intact, and the Boxing News 24/7 account says the commission acknowledged the bell ending Round 11 had sounded before the stoppage and ruled that neither finding altered the outcome of the contest.

“Rico Verhoeven has lost an appeal to overturn his contentious stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk”

talkSPORT

Boxing News 24/7 also reported that the unbeaten Ukrainian must decide between a rematch with Verhoeven or a defense against WBC mandatory challenger Agit Kabayel, after Usyk stopped Verhoeven in the 11th round of their May 23 clash at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

talkSPORT said Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh has expressed interest in a sequel after Usyk fulfils his WBC mandatory obligation with interim champion Agit Kabayel, with Usyk-Kabayel targeted for January and Istanbul considered as a potential location.

In the Mirror, Usyk said: "This fight was hard. It was a good fight," and he added he was "ready" to fight Germany’s WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel.