Aspinall calls Verhoeven's stoppage loss to Usyk a robbery fixed before the bell

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has publicly condemned the stoppage that ended Rico Verhoeven’s WBC heavyweight title challenge against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday in Giza, Egypt, calling it a robbery and alleging the outcome was predetermined. Referee Mark Lyson halted the contest with one second remaining in the 11th round after Usyk dropped Verhoeven and followed up with a barrage of unanswered punches.

Verhoeven, Aspinall’s longtime training partner, had entered the fight as a heavy underdog but stunned observers by winning the early rounds and threatening one of the most remarkable upsets in boxing history. The tide turned late when Usyk floored the Dutch kickboxing champion in the final seconds of the 11th, and Lyson waved it off before the bell could rescue Verhoeven.

Aspinall was unsparing in his criticism. “They don’t even let him make it to the end of the round,” he said on YouTube. “It’s a robbery. What the f—k was that? F—ing boxing don’t want anyone else to win. They want the boxers with the amateur style coming in, winning the Olympic medal, and then switching over and beating unbeaten pros. That’s what they want. They don’t like other combat sports… Why did you give him a chance?… What is the point in doing all that Egypt stuff, all these massive events, if you’re going to choose the winner before they even step in there?”

Aspinall argued that boxing’s officiating is structurally biased against fighters from other combat sports disciplines, and that the sport has no genuine interest in allowing a kickboxer to hold a world heavyweight title.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou added his voice to the criticism, expressing support for Verhoeven. Ngannou himself suffered a controversial split-decision loss to Tyson Fury in 2023 and has previously argued that boxing is hostile to outsiders — a view he reiterated following Saturday’s result.

The controversy may also have personal implications for Aspinall. The British champion had been openly weighing a transition to boxing after his eventual retirement from MMA, but Verhoeven’s experience appears to have given him pause about whether such a move would be worthwhile.