Rico Verhoeven was expected to struggle badly against Oleksandr Usyk, but the heavyweight kickboxing great turned the fight into a far tighter contest than many predicted.
Usyk eventually won by 11th-round stoppage, yet the finish became the story because the Dutchman appeared to survive just as the bell became central to the dispute.
That made the defeat harder to accept for Verhoeven’s camp, especially after a performance that shocked fans and left the underdog close to a remarkable boxing upset.
Rico Verhoeven’s coach reveals what referee Mark Lyson told him on flight home
Verhoeven’s coach Peter Fury told iFL TV he was on the same flight home as referee Mark Lyson and asked him directly about the stoppage.
“The referee was on the flight with me on the way back. So I spoke to him. I went over, and the best way to sort any dispute is go and ask him the question, isn’t it? Ask the person who’s done it,” Fury began by saying.
“I said, ‘You’ve made a mistake.’ And he said to me, which is very important, he said, ‘Peter, I didn’t hear the bell.’ I said, ‘Well, now I believe, because I didn’t hear the bell either.’ I didn’t hear the bell. I thought it was like two seconds before.
“So, yes, it’s a mistake. And I’m going to call it a genuine mistake. After me speaking with him, he said it. And he said it honestly. He said, ‘I never heard the bell.’ So I take that as right, because I didn’t hear the bell either.”
That explanation does not remove the controversy, but it gives the decision a human context.
The frustration will remain for Verhoeven. He dropped jaws as a huge underdog and had his chance to achieve an outstanding feat blocked by a mistake.
Still, that fight just added to his status as a combat sports superstar and more opportunities are certainly set to come.
