"Stopped after the bell" - Rico Verhoeven files appeal against Usyk's victory
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
Ukrainian heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk successfully defended his world championship belt, clinching an epic and hard-fought victory over Dutch colossus Rico Verhoeven.
Details: The mega-fight reached its climax in the 11th round, when the referee stepped in to halt the contest and awarded the win to the Ukrainian by technical knockout. However, controversy erupted immediately after the bout. Former Glory champion Rico Verhoeven fiercely criticized the referee’s actions and officially declared that his team would be lodging an appeal against the result.
The Dutchman insists the referee made a critical error by stopping the fight after the bell had already sounded to end the round.
"They stopped the fight after the bell. I think we’re just going to go ahead and file an appeal because this makes no sense. When the referee intervened, I wasn’t dazed or anything like that. I looked at him thinking: Why are you stopping it? We were so close to making it to the end. It’s totally absurd. The referee must be aware of what he’s doing. Of course, mistakes happen, but he needs to admit his error. They should review the footage and declare the fight a 'no contest' or go to the judges’ scorecards. And if they went to the cards, at that point I was ahead on points," Verhoeven was quoted as saying by the reputable outlet Boxing News.
Despite protests from Verhoeven’s camp, Oleksandr Usyk officially celebrates yet another triumphant title defense.
Reminder: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face Tyson Fury in the ring.
