The judges’ scorecards for Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven have been revealed after a hugely controversial late finish to Saturday’s world heavyweight title fight.
Usyk narrowly retained his status as unified champion of boxing’s glamour division at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt with a contentious stoppage that was timed with just one second remaining in the 11th round.
Referee Mark Lyson stepped in to wave off the contest with a tired Verhoeven receiving an onslaught of heavy punches from Usyk, who had sent him to the canvas with a crushing uppercut moments before.
Kickboxing legend Verhoeven and his team felt the stoppage was premature and that he should have been allowed to continue into the 12th round, having defied all odds and expectations to seriously unsettle boxing’s three-time undisputed champion and reigning pound-for-pound No1, threatening to pull off what would have gone down as one of the biggest sporting upsets in history.
The scorecards at the time of the divisive stoppage have now been revealed, with two judges - Spain’s Manuel Oliver Palomo and Fabian Guggenheim of Switzerland - having the fight level at 95-95 apiece heading into round 11, which would have been a 10-8 round for Usyk with the knockdown, if Verhoeven had seen the bell.
Palomo and Guggenheim both gave Verhoeven rounds one, two, six, seven and nine, while giving rounds three, four, five, eight and 10 to Usyk.
A third judge, Canada’s Pasquale Procopio, had Verhoeven ahead by a round, 96-94. He also awarded Verhoeven rounds one, two, six, seven and nine, but also gave him the 10th as he had Usyk winning rounds three, four, five and eight.
The Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven scorecards prior to the stoppage 👀
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) May 23, 2026
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A 10-8 round to Usyk in the 11th would have seen the champion go into the final three minutes ahead 105-103 on two of the cards, with the other level at 104-104.
