He didn’t know it at the time, but a chance meeting with Jason Statham a couple of years ago in London would one day lead to Rico Verhoeven fighting Oleksandr Usyk for the world heavyweight title.
Verhoeven, a kickboxing great who held the GLORY heavyweight title for over a decade, unbeaten since 2015, will fight Usyk on May 23 in Egypt, in front of the Pyramids of Giza.
“Glory of Giza: Undefeated Icons,” promoted by Ring Magazine, is the latest mega crossover fight which the boxing world is becoming accustomed to.
The showpiece itself will be impressive enough, but the fact it was helped along the way by an A-list celebrity adds a little bit more magic to the event. According to Verhoeven, it was Statham, the Hollywood superstar known for being a fan of combat sport, who reached out asking him to drop by when they were both in London.
Verhoeven, a towering 6ft 5in, 270 pound beast who has dominated his discipline for years, has also dabbled in the movie business, with appearances in several action films and has worked most recently on Roadhouse II.
Mutual friends put them in touch, and Verhoeven drove over an hour to catch up with Statham.
“It was so cool, we just clicked,” Verhoeven tells ESPN. “You know sometimes you just have a certain energy that just falls into place with people and that’s what we had. Since then, we just stayed in contact.”
They crossed paths again in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when Usyk fought Tyson Fury.
“He was like bro; you need to be here! It needs to be happen,” the Dutchman continues. “He started talking to His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority] about me, he just planted the seed.”
Fast forward to September last year in Las Vegas and Statham, who has become a ringside regular alongside Alalshikh at the biggest fights of the last two years, was on site for Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford. Again, according to Verhoeven, he pushed the idea to Alalshikh about the kickboxing great being involved in a mega fight of his own.
“Sunday morning, Amsterdam time, I’m on the treadmill running, Jason is calling,” Verhoeven explains. “I said: ‘Bro I’m on the treadmill, let me call you [back]. He was like ‘listen up, slow down. I talked to [Alalshikh] he’s down; he loves it. He’s been watching all your fights, and he wants to do something. I gave him your contact, and his team is going to connect you.’
“So yeah, he [Statham] was the glue.”
A fight against Anthony Joshua was in the works, all but confirmed and set for March, with Verhoeven’s name floated at the post-fight news conference after Joshua’s win over Jake Paul in November.
However, Joshua’s involvement in a car accident on Dec. 31 which killed two of his friends left Verhoeven, as well as the British heavyweight’s career, in limbo. It was back to the drawing board for Verhoeven, who was still desperate for a big fight.
He had offers from the UFC, but had his sights set on boxing, which is more closely aligned with his skillset. His team decided to float the idea of fighting Usyk to Alalshikh.
Why not?
“He’s the champ, I’m the champ in my discipline, let’s talk about it,” Verhoeven says. “I called them up, and I said: ‘I have an idea, I just want to pitch it … Just let me know what you think.
“I hear: ‘I love it.’
“The rest is history. They discussed it with [Usyk], he was excited about it, he said: ‘I love it too, let’s make it happen.'”
Not only will Verhoeven, a kickboxing icon who will go down as one of the best the sport has ever seen, fight the elite heavyweight boxer on the planet, but it will be for an actual title, with the WBC confirming their belt will be on the line.
The fight has divided the boxing world, but it’s another showpiece which will draw attention to the sport.
And, against the backdrop of the ancient pyramids, it’s sure to look like something out of a movie.