Don’t look now, but the boxing world looks ready to shake things up a little.
In a sport that has admittedly grown stale, allowing Zuffa Boxing and its partners to swoop in and snatch up English star Conor Benn, creativity appeared to be at a standstill. However, on Friday, one of Zuffa’s partners, Turki Alalshikh, was among those behind one of the biggest boxing crossovers in years:
Former GLORY heavyweight kickboxing champ Rico Verhoeven will face Oleksandr Usyk for his WBC heavyweight championship in Giza, Egypt.
The card takes place on May 23, 2026, and is arguably the biggest crossover fight since Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather in 2017. The nearest comparison since might be Francis Ngannou facing Tyson Fury, though that appeared to find Fury sleeping on the ex-UFC heavyweight champ.
The card is set to air on DAZN and is being billed as “Glory in Giza.”
Legends collide where legends were built 🥊🦂
On May 23, under the shadows of the ancient giants, Oleksandr Usyk takes on Rico Verhoeven at the iconic Pyramids of Giza 🔥
Glory in Giza | May 23 | LIVE on DAZN
Brought to you by @ringmagazine pic.twitter.com/Oh7vDDvLZY
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 27, 2026
Verhoeven is 1-0 as a professional boxer, a fight that took place back in 2014. He’s also 1-0 as a mixed martial artist and had been in talks with the UFC to appear on the first Paramount+ card, until the promotion balked at the price tag attached to the kickboxing star.
The Dutch striker defended his GLORY heavyweight title 13 times, and won the promotion’s heavyweight tournament in 2014. He left the promotion in November, vacating his title in the process.
Usyk is a perfect 24-0 inside the ring, with two wins over each of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, among others.
