Aspinall slams 'outrageous' referee stoppage that ended Verhoeven's fight with Usyk

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has publicly condemned the referee stoppage that ended Rico Verhoeven’s boxing challenge against lineal heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday, calling the decision a “robbery” after video footage showed the intervention came after the bell had already sounded to end the 11th round.

Verhoeven, the long-reigning GLORY Kickboxing champion, had defied expectations by taking Usyk deep into the fight before the stoppage sparked immediate and widespread backlash. Aspinall, who trains occasionally with Verhoeven, posted a live-reaction video to his YouTube channel in which he was visibly furious at the outcome.

“He’s only got about 10 seconds left. He should be good,” Aspinall said as the stoppage unfolded. “Oh what, he stopped it?! No f*cking way! For a world title fight he stopped it, for about five or six unanswered shots! What?!”

Aspinall went further, drawing a direct comparison to the recent Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois fight, which he attended ringside, to argue that the standard applied to Verhoeven was inconsistent with how boxing typically handles adversity.

“Two weeks ago, we were at Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, ringside: that happened probably 10 times,” he said. “Sent Fabio Wardley out there, big swollen eye on one side, nose squashed, big swelling on his forehead, been dropped five times in the fight, [but] they sent him out for another round. Rico gets stumbled to his knee, they let him up with 10 seconds left, he lands a few unanswered shots, and they don’t even let him make it to the end of the round? It’s a f*cking robbery.”

The UFC champion also broadened his criticism to the sport of boxing itself, suggesting the establishment is hostile to fighters crossing over from other combat sports disciplines.

“Boxing don’t want anyone else to win, simple as that,” Aspinall said. “They want boxers with the amateur style, coming in, winning their Olympic medal, and then switching over and being unbeaten pros. They don’t like other combat sports.”

The controversy deepened after the bell timing was confirmed by video review. Verhoeven has since announced his intention to appeal the result on the grounds of referee error, a process that will likely keep the debate over the stoppage alive well beyond fight night.