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Pharaohs, pyramids and a heavyweight king: Oleksandr Usyk arrives for Giza history
I was always OK at school - a pretty low maintenance student for the teachers apart from that time my cousin insisted he could create a high skin fade for me with my dad’s hair clippers, only to leave me with less hair than Marvelous Marvin Hagler just days before an important set of exams.
Those disasters aside, I will hold my hands up and say I was not the best at history. Let’s just say my version of the past might upset several centuries.
I do know however that the pharaohs were clever people. And the pharaohs built pyramids as monumental tombs to secure their own immortality. The thinking at the time was that if they preserved their mummified bodies this would facilitate their journey to the afterlife.
This weekend three-time undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk and Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven will come together at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
DAZN FACE OFF: Usyk vs. Verhoeven
Watch dramatic clash here
The unique crossover bout dubbed ‘Glory in Giza’ – which will be live on DAZN – has certainly set tongues wagging.
In choosing to fight beneath the vast, unblinking skies of Egypt - the land of the pharaohs - Usyk steps into a dusty theatre where time has a longer memory than wizened fistic nonagenarians Bob Arum and Don King combined.
There have been murmurings from harsh judges about whether the famous WBC heavyweight belt should be at stake for this given Verhoeven’s relative inexperience as a boxer?
Indeed, we now know Verhoeven can only win the WBC belt this weekend, while the WBA and IBF titles will become vacant if Usyk loses.
I’m OK with it. Usyk has earned his flowers, and we know Verhoeven will be in good hands with the sagacious Peter Fury in his corner. Verhoeven has been a regular guest within training camps overseen by Fury down the years and has done numerous dog rounds of sparring with Tyson Fury and Peter’s son Hughie in that time.
He will know how to look after himself in there, and even if this turns out to be a routine assignment for Usyk, he has earned the right. He is in the twilight of his career, but has carried himself like a champion for many years and has been a fantastic ambassador for the noble art.
Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Usyk-Verhoeven has come right out of leftfield, but the brilliant Ukrainian with the twinkle in his eye has earned the right to call the shots in what is now the winter of his career.
In his last six fights he has boxed ‘Gypsy King’ Fury twice, Anthony Joshua twice and Daniel Dubois twice. That's a modern "Murderers' Row" of heavyweight talent. Big men. Dynamite punchers. And yet when the smoked cleared Usyk stood tall. Unbeaten and unbowed.
This fighting genius with a wand for a left hand has yet to taste defeat in 24 fights as a pro and has won 15 of those contests inside the distance. He should be allowed to really maximise his earnings from here and call the shots. If anyone has earned the right, it is he.
The stones and the sands in Giza have seen empires rise and fall; they are unimpressed by titles. However, they are unlikely to have seen anything quite like Usyk, a man of composure and peculiar elasticity, who brings with him the quiet certainties of his craft.
Should his WBC belt be on the line? Look, this is boxing. Fighters sometimes get title shots without clearly earning them. The sanctioning bodies prioritise business, politics, and branding over fairness and clarity. That’s just the way it goes. The way it has always been. In other news, Tuesday follows Monday.
The prize ring - for all its pageantry - is not a monastery. It is a marketplace. And the heavyweight champion with the easy smile and playful racoon energy is more aware of this than most.
He is not doing this for the applause of keyboard critics, most of whom have never taken a punch in their lives. He fights now for generational wealth.
It’s a short career. Indeed, it’s a short life. And boxing can be brutal. Trust me, one minute you’re the second coming of Evander Holyfield. The next, you’re a cautionary tale narrated over slow-motion footage and sad piano music.
These are crazy times for boxing. Nothing feels off the table. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh cannot be accused of lacking in imagination.
Fighting at the foot of Egypt’s pyramids is a first for boxing, and the unique backdrop will ensure the event is remembered as one of the most visually iconic fight nights ever. Indeed, there’s a delicious irony that Usyk will be fighting within spitting distance of the pyramids in the winter of his career.
Egyptian tombs - known as "houses of eternity" - were built to ensure the dead pharaohs were remembered. Burial sites made of stone were literal signs of immortality, due to the long durability of stone. Whatever he does from here until the end of his first ballot Hall-of-Fame career, rest assured that the mercurial Usyk won’t need a tomb to be remembered.
Watch Usyk vs Verhoeven only on DAZN
Oleksandr Usyk puts his unbeaten record on the line against Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23, in front of the Egyptian pyramids, live and exclusive on DAZN. Buy as a one-off PPV or included, along with Zayas vs. Ennis (June 27) PPV, with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.
