Legendary expert boxing coach Teddy Atlas has given his final prediction for the upcoming Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven crossover boxing match happening this weekend on May 23. Speaking on his “THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas” podcast, Atlas refused to hold back, expressing his brutally honest opinion of the fight’s outcome.
Watch the full episode here:
“We’re not going to see an upset,” Atlas stated, believing the fight will easily go Usyk’s way.
Atlas made sure to give Rico credit for an impressive kickboxing career that has seen him go undefeated since 2015. In his opinion, however, Verhoeven’s kickboxing credentials will not go far against the current best heavyweight and one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of the modern era, Oleksandr Usyk.
“Verhoeven is a legendary kickboxer, but he’s had one pro boxing fight that he won against a handpicked guy, so he’s 1-0. He’s not going to be 2-0,” Atlas stated frankly.
Watch Verhoeven's first and only boxing match here:
He also joked, “We got a better chance of seeing King Tut make a comeback than we do of seeing Verhoeven pull it off,” referencing the fight’s location at the iconic Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Despite the jokes and borderline insults, Atlas made it known that his confidence in Usyk and his doubt in Verhoeven is based on the facts.
“Look, you don’t take anyone for granted. He’s a big, strong guy, Verhoeven. He’s in good shape. He’s physical. He’s gamed. He’s experienced in the kickboxing realm,” he said, listing Verhoeven’s upside.
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“You don’t take anyone for granted, but he doesn’t figure to have any chance against Usyk,” he stated bluntly.
Atlas also referenced the recent rise of crossover fights, like the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul exhibition, the Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury fight, and the Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul fight. He believes that these spectacles can sometimes have an unspoken agreement to go on for longer than they have to in order to give fans a show.
Usyk Ready to Hang Up the Gloves?
He also believes that Usyk will simply treat this as a payday, due to him being in the twilight of his already legendary boxing career.
“He deserves an easy one. He’s earned it. He’s unified the heavyweight title twice, he unified all the cruiserweight belts, he won a gold medal back in the Olympics,” Atlas explained, listing Usyk’s accomplishments. “I mean, the guy does nothing but win, and he fights everybody. He deserves a little bit of an easy one.”
Usyk himself has also laid out his plan of fighting only a few more times before he decides to hang up the gloves (via Inside The Ring on YouTube):
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iPbkDX3PIJw
He outlined his last three fights of his boxing career, saying, “Rico, this is first. Second, it’s who wins [Fabio] Wardley- [Daniel] Dubois. Third fight it’s my friend, ‘Greedy Belly’ Tyson Fury.”
With the Wardley vs. Dubois fight resulting in a Daniel Dubois TKO win, it seems like Usyk will be fighting Dubois for the third time after his upcoming fight with Verhoeven.
Usyk has also expressed interest in an MMA fight against Jake Paul, which could happen after his boxing career is over.
“What does he want to do in this fight? It’s up to Usyk,” Atlas claimed.
He concluded jokingly, “Maybe afterwards, we see him with King Tut.”
