The Dutch fighter Rico Verhoeven formalized an appeal to challenge the result of his recent confrontation in the heavyweight category against Oleksandr Usyk.

The athlete's work team seeks to have the boxing authorities review the referee's performance during the fight held at the Pyramids of Giza.

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The controversy originated in the eleventh round of the lawsuit on May 23 in Egypt. The referee of the match stopped the actions with just one second remaining in the period, declaring the challenger's fast-track defeat against the Ukrainian champion.

The legal argument of the work team

In an interview with the specialized media Boxing News, Rico Verhoeven explained his disagreement with the third party's criteria on the surface in the final moments.

The athlete maintains that the bell had already sounded the end signal before the official stoppage of the contest was decreed.

"They stopped the fight after the bell rang. The bell rang and then they stopped the fight. I think we are going to appeal, because this makes no sense," Rico Verhoeven told the news portal when evaluating the decisions that determined the outcome of the night.

The challenger argues that he had the necessary physical abilities to compete in the twelfth and final round of the program. In his talk with Boxing News, the fighter detailed that his level of visual and motor response remained stable after the fall suffered seconds before in the ring.

"That's why, when the referee came in, I wasn't dazzled or anything. I was looking at the referee. Why did you stop? We're almost there," Rico Verhoeven added when describing the conversation he had in the ring with the match official.

The evaluation of the strategy in Giza

Despite the final result recorded in the records, the scorecards showed a balanced performance until the moment of arrest. The challenger's defensive approach made the offensive circuits of the WBA, IBF and WBC champion difficult.

The European's corner values ​​the resistance and tactical discipline they showed against what is considered the best pound for pound heavyweight. The training team believes that previous work demonstrated that skills from kickboxing are functional in paid boxing.

"We had a brilliant strategy and it worked. I am very proud and very happy. I had not seen any boxer do that until tonight," concluded Rico Verhoeven when pondering the positive aspects of his preparation for this international event.

The panorama of the heavyweight division

The resolution of this administrative claim will keep the federation's board of commissioners busy during the next few weeks of the sports calendar. For Rico Verhoeven, the primary objective is for the sanctioning entity to order a direct rematch that allows the conflict to be resolved without technical doubts.

The result of the appeal will also influence the plans of the Ukrainian champion, who is already analyzing options for the end of the season in September.

The international promoters are awaiting confirmation of the validity of the verdict before announcing the signing of the following contracts.