Oleksandr Usyk avoided a disastrous defeat as he stopped Rico Verhoeven in the 11th round.
Verhoeven drew a cheer inside 30 seconds when his right hand landed the first shot of the night. Usyk was content to work his way into the fight but shipped a right hand to the body as the underdog snatched the opening session. Verhoeven attempted to make his size advantage count in the second round but Usyk began to land his uppercut.
Verhoeven landed another thudding right at the start of the third stanza before switching to the body. But Usyk finally woke up, landing a right of his own to remind Verhoeven of the task at hand. But it was the Dutchman who ended the round with another backhand.
Usyk suddenly came to life in the fourth round when an uppercut sparked a combination which rocked Verhoeven. The underdog recovered well and answered back with his trusty right. Verhoeven continued to bowl forward in the fifth but Usyk landed a clubbing left.
Verhoeven was still more than holding his own by the midway point and landed a looping right to start the seventh session. Usyk answered back with a left hook but he was soon on the back foot again as Verhoeven refused to wilt, landing a right hand on the bell. The same shot thudded home in the eighth round but even that wasn’t enough to shake the champion from his slumber.
Verhoeven switched his attention to Usyk’s body in the ninth, landing hooks with both hands. And still the challenger marched forward, smothering Usyk and outworking the unbeaten man. But a flurry from Usyk at the end of the session served as a reminder of his threat.
Usyk took that danger into the penultimate session as he rattled off another combination. And finally the challenger hit the canvas. And the referee stepped in after another flurry in what was an early finish.
On the undercard, Hamzah Sheeraz was crowned WBO super-middleweight world champion after a devastating second -round stoppage of Alem Begic. Sheeraz dominated from the opening bell and dropped his German opponent with a left hook from which he failed to recover.
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