Oleksandr Usyk and Rico VerhoevenMark Robinson/Getty Images

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven Live Winners and Losers, Results

Lyle FitzsimmonsMay 23, 2026

Big fight? Maybe not. Big event? Certainly.

Three-belt heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk makes the sixth defense of his reign not against a fearsome No. 1 contender or a rising prospect, but instead against long-time kickboxing king Rico Verhoeven, who's not lost since 2015.

And their fight will take place not in a casino ballroom or sold-out soccer stadium, but at the pyramids of Giza at the Giza Necropolis in Giza, Egypt.

The match tops a 10-bout card that'll also include a showdown for the vacant WBO title at 168 pounds and a duel for the WBA's second-tier title at 147.

B/R's combat team is in position to take in the action and deliver a real-time list of the show's definitive winners and losers. Take a look at what we come up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.

Winner: Taking Counsel

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Gennady Golovkin & Kell Brook Press Conference

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Abel Sanchez

Here's a tip: If you've got a trainer like Abel Sanchez, listen to him.

Omar Hikal finally did that between the second and third rounds and it instantly paid off in the form of a KO victory in his pro debut against Tanzanian import Michael Kalyalya.

Fighting in his native country, Hikal was a bit loose with fundamentals while chasing a finish in the opening rounds and relying almost exclusively on left uppercuts to Kalyalya's belly.

Sanchez got in his ear after the second and suggested some variety in the approach and the strategy immediately paid off with a left-right to the head that drove the 32-year-old to the floor.

Kalyalya rolled to his knees but was unable to rise, ending the fight at 55 seconds of the third.

"He got the KO that he wanted," analyst Malik Scott said. "You can tell he wanted it because he was hunting it from Round 1."

Winner: Dangerous Dynamo

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Mahmoud Marbouk

Mahmoud Marbouk's career is a work in progress.

But it'll be entertaining along the way.

The 140-pounder became the second straight Egyptian to make a pro debut alongside the pyramids and did so successfully with a unanimous decision over Ugandan foe Ali Sserunkuma.

Also trained by Sanchez, Marbouk seemed far more conscious of putting on a show in his first fight, initiating exchanges and consistently pressing forward, even at his own peril.

The aggressive youngster was repeatedly clipped by straight shots by Sserunkuma. And though he was never in real peril against a foe who'd arrived with a 2-3-1 record and 0 KOs, that won't be the case if he continues to charge in with little to no regard for defense.

One judge had Marbouk up, 38-37, while the other two cards were 40-35 for the winner.