Oleksandr Usyk barely made sure he didn’t end up on the wrong side of it.

Usyk overcame a valiant Verhoeven effort to stop him with one second left in the 11th round, retaining his Ring and unified heavyweight world titles after their exciting "Glory in Giza" main event encounter in Egypt.

Verhoeven's aggression, awkwardness and defense allowed him to pull ahead and stay in control of the fight. Usyk, The Ring's No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, had his moments sparingly, though the fight appeared to be slipping from his grasp.

The same championship mettle Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) has previously shown to cement himself as the generation's best heavyweight shone through.

The defending titleholder started his rally late in the 10th round, rocking Verhoeven with a straight left hand. The Dutchman managed to clinch, surviving until the end of the frame.

Verhoeven (1-1, 1 KO) regained control for much of the 11th round, but with around 20 seconds left, Usyk connected on a right uppercut sending him to the canvas.

After spitting out his mouthpiece and rising to his feet, the challenger walked to his corner on wobbly legs. When the action resumed, Usyk returned to the offensive and threw a punch flurry as Verhoeven tried fighting back to make it to the final stanza.

The two-time undisputed heavyweight champion kept his foot on the gas, and referee Mark Lyson stopped the fight with the bell to end the round about to ring.

"This fight was hard," Usyk acknowledged in his post-fight interview. "He did good to prepare. It was a good fight."

Judges Manuel Oliver Palomo and Fabian Guggenheim both had it 95-95 at the time of the stoppage, while Pasquale Procopio had Verhoeven ahead 96-94.

According to CompuBox, Usyk landed 112 of 499 total punches and Verhoeven was 113-for-508. Usyk held a 23-20 connect advantage in jabs while Verhoeven had a 93-89 edge in power punches landed.

Afterwards, The Ring's No. 2-ranked heavyweight Agit Kabayel called for a shot at the unified champion, which Usyk agreed.

WBC interim titleholder Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) said he hoped their bout could take place in his home country of Germany, with manager Spencer Brown suggesting late September or early October as a realistic timeframe for a European stadium show.

Verhoeven, 37, who was 66-10 with 21 KOs as a kickboxer and reigned as the Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion from 2013 to 2025, voiced his displeasure with the stoppage.

"I thought it was an early stoppage but at the end, it’s not up to me," he said. "I found it a little bit early. I believe the referee knows we're almost at the end of the round, let me go out on my shield or let the bell go."

Verhoeven got off to a fast start. He landed the much more eye-catching shots, while Usyk largely stayed on the defensive though found some success with his left hook, uppercut and right hook.

The Dutchman controlled the start of the fourth round, but Usyk turned the tide with a left uppercut visibly wobbling him. Verhoeven recovered well and landed a big right hand in the latter half, but it was by far Usyk's best round of the fight. He landed another big left uppercut late which dislodged Verhoeven's mouthpiece.

After a competitive fifth round where both fighters had their moments, the challenger reasserted himself in the sixth with aggressive output as he kept Usyk from landing flush.

Usyk let his hands go more in round seven, but he absorbed a big left hook in the round's most noteworthy shot.

The eighth started as one of Verhoeven’s best, continuing to make Usyk miss and connected with big right hands and left hooks. Usyk made a run late, landing a left uppercut and right hook, but that did little to deter Verhoeven.

With the fight appearing to slip away from Usyk entering the ninth, he occasionally landed a telling blow but struggled to follow up while Verhoeven did the more consistent work.

It started as more of the same in the 10th as Verhoeven was busier, landing the cleaner shots and bullying Usyk on the inside. Late in the round though, Usyk landed a left uppercut that sent him reeling to the ropes.

He followed up with a straight left hand, but Verhoeven pushed Usyk to the ropes and clinched to survive to the end of the round, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.