Joe Rogan believes Rico Verhoeven’s boxing loss to Oleksandr Usyk was in part a result of incompetent or corrupt judging. However, the longtime UFC commentator seems to lean toward the latter.
For context, Verhoeven, a legendary kickboxing champion, made his professional boxing debut against former undisputed heavyweight champion Usyk on May 23, in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, with the WBC and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles on the line.
After 10 rounds, two judges had the fight scored even, while the third had Verhoeven ahead 96-94. However, in the 11th round, Usyk hurt the kickboxing champion with a flurry of punches, leaving him visibly dazed.
The referee quickly stepped in to wave off the contest, awarding the legendary boxer a TKO victory. The stoppage drew widespread criticism from the combat sports community, with many arguing that it was premature and unfair. Rogan shares the same view.
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During the JRE MMA show, episode #183, featuring Verhoeven, Rogan slammed the stoppage, saying:
“There is no way they stopped that fight [if it was Usyk that was dazed]. No way. Look, it’s either incompetence or corruption. And I tend to think corruption. I think these guys wanna keep judging fights, and they want the favor of the promoters, and the money is in Usyk. Usyk is a huge name. He is their big star in the heavyweight division.”
Check out Joe Rogan’s comments on the controversial stoppage below:
Joe Rogan slams Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven judging
Like many in the combat sports community, Joe Rogan believes Rico Verhoeven was comfortably ahead on the scorecards before Oleksandr Usyk stopped him in the 11th round of their boxing match.
During the aforementioned podcast episode, the longtime UFC commentator criticized the judging, arguing that the officials made the fight appear closer than it actually was:
“You have a fight with arguably the greatest boxer in the heavyweight division ever. And you won 10 f**king rounds, man. I mean, I don’t give a f**k what those judges were saying. Those judges were trying to say it was close. I think one of them had you up by one round, and the other ones had it a draw. That’s a crime. If that went to the scorecards, and somehow or another you lost the decision, that would have been a crime. A crime.”
Edited by Ujwal Jain
