Ukrainian boxer Alexander Usik will receive $100 million for a fight with Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven. The Dutch publication De Volkskrant reported this on May 22.
The publication notes that the fight will also bring significant profits to Verhoeven. However, the exact amount is not disclosed. In addition, the material says, thanks to the fight with Usyk, the athlete will be able to increase his recognition throughout the world, which he “has been purposefully striving for in recent years.”
Tribuna.com called Usik’s fee astronomical, and Sport Express called it insane.
What is known about Verhoeven
For the 37-year-old Verhoeven, the fight against Usik will be only the second at the professional level. At the same time, he held his first one back in 2014 – then he knocked out the little-known Hungarian boxer Janos Finfer in the second round (he lost all six fights at the professional level and soon retired).
However, Verhoeven is unlikely to be such an easy opponent for Usyk. This is one of the most titled kickboxers of our time: he has been professionally involved in kickboxing since 2004, and for 11 years – from 2014 to 2025 – he held the championship title in GLORY, the largest professional kickboxing league in the world. In total, he was champion for 4,220 days (a record) and won 28 out of 29 fights (including 14 title fights), 27 of them in a row (another record).
Before the fight with Usik, Verhoeven noted that this was an opportunity for him to reach the highest level.
