The sanctioning body has nevertheless approved him as the challenger.
This is not an argument against Verhoeven’s athletic background. In kickboxing, his accomplishments are extensive. He held a version of the heavyweight championship for more than a decade and defended it against elite opposition, building a long reign across another combat sport. He understands championship pressure and has spent years performing at the highest level available to him.
The issue is whether that history converts directly into eligibility for a world heavyweight title fight in boxing.
Usyk, now 39, reached his position through defined steps inside the sport. After moving up from cruiserweight, he defeated established contenders and unified titles through high-level bouts. His recent run included two victories over Tyson Fury in Riyadh before he stopped Daniel Dubois inside five rounds to retain championship status. Each of those fights came against ranked heavyweights operating within boxing’s competitive order.
Verhoeven enters without that path. He has been absent from professional boxing for more than a decade and has not built recent rounds against modern heavyweights, moved through eliminators, or navigated a ranking ladder under contemporary championship conditions. Even so, the WBC has deemed him suitable to compete for its belt.
The event itself explains part of the calculation. Branded “Glory in Giza,” the fight will take place in Egypt and stream globally on DAZN under the direction of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. The scale of the staging, the historic setting, and the financial backing position it as a destination event built for international reach rather than a routine defense drawn from the contender queue.
Heavyweight championships have traditionally progressed through ranked challengers, eliminators, and ordered mandatory defenses. That system has never been rigid, but it has existed as a visible framework. Approving a crossover challenger with a single professional boxing bout moves outside that framework and adjusts the standard being applied.
Supporters of the decision will point to Verhoeven’s credentials. He is not inexperienced in combat sports, nor is he unfamiliar with performing under championship pressure. Physically, he fits the division, and commercially, he brings a different audience segment to the event. From a promotional standpoint, the appeal is clear.
Sanctioning, however, is meant to reflect competitive standing inside the sport itself.
Usyk’s position complicates the picture. After unifying and defending against established names, he operates with the freedom that often comes to long-reigning champions. Heavyweight titleholders historically select opponents based on reward and timing once they have cleared their primary field. A crossover opponent with limited boxing experience presents a different risk profile than a ranked contender with dozens of professional bouts.
That adjustment does not erase the legitimacy of the belt, but it does indicate how flexible the approval process can become when event scale and global reach enter the equation.
The heavyweight championship has long functioned as boxing’s symbolic center. Decisions about who competes for it reflect how the sport weighs competitive order against commercial ambition. In this case, the emphasis clearly favors the event’s reach and spectacle.
Verhoeven earned his standing in kickboxing. Usyk earned his in boxing. On May 23 those careers intersect under heavyweight championship rules, and the event may succeed on its own terms.
Still, a fighter absent from professional boxing for twelve years has been cleared to challenge for the sport’s most visible prize. That fact alone tells you where heavyweight title approvals stand at this moment.
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