He described the former Glory heavyweight kickboxing champion as crazy for thinking he can dethrone Usyk. Being crazy is something Verhoeven believes is a necessity if he’s going to pull off one of, if not the biggest upset in boxing history.

Verhoeven will look to do the unthinkable when he faces Usyk in the main event of “Glory in Giza” in a 12-round heavyweight bout on May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on DAZN PPV. Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) holds the Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC heavyweight titles. The WBC is sanctioning the bout as a voluntary title defense for the three-time undisputed champion.

“I think to be the very best at what you're doing, you have to be a little bit crazy,” Verhoeven said at the launch press conference in London on Tuesday. “I think that's not just me, I think that's in every vertical and every discipline, you have to be a little bit crazy and obsessed with what you're doing and that's what I am.

“What I do, I do to perfection. In my vision, I love it. I enjoy it. I do it with so much passion, and I'm excited to be here … We're bringing new eyeballs to combat sports. We're bringing [and] colliding two worlds together, kickboxing and boxing, to make this sport of combat even bigger.”

Verhoeven also credited actor Jason Statham for initiating the idea that culminated in his opportunity to face Usyk.

The undercard includes Hamzah Sheeraz versus Alem Begic for the vacant WBO super middleweight title in the co-main event, Jack Catterall versus Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA regular welterweight belt, Richard Torrez versus Frank Sanchez in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator and Ring and WBO 115-pound champion Mizuki Hiruta versus Mai Soliman.

Verhoeven, 36, is 66-10 with 21 KOs as a kickboxer and reigned as the heavyweight champion in Glory, the top kickboxing organization in the world, from 2013 to 2025 before vacating the title in November. His last defeat came in 2015 against Andrey Gerasimchuk when fighting for a different kickboxing organization.

He last fought on June 14, beating former Glory light heavyweight champion Artem Vakhitov by unanimous decision. The Dutch kickboxer has one professional boxing match under his belt, which he won by second-round knockout against a winless Janos Finfera in 2014.

Verhoeven’s experience in kickboxing, along with his size, is something he believes will play to his advantage against Usyk.

“Oleksandr has solved the puzzle of boxing multiple times already,” Verhoeven said. “This is a puzzle he hasn’t solved yet. I'm going to bring kickboxing angles [and] bring a different type of puzzle. I'm a big unit. I'm like 125 kilos. So that is something that he's got to feel.”

Usyk, 39, who is The Ring’s No. 1-ranked fighter pound-for-pound, became the undisputed champion at cruiserweight and has accomplished the feat twice at heavyweight, including in his last fight, a fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois in their rematch on July 19. The Ukrainian southpaw also boasts two wins over Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Verhoeven is being trained by Fury’s uncle, Peter Fury. Fury had trained specifically on just his boxing, and now, with Verhoeven making his foray into the sport, he’ll be the chief second.

Fury was more than respectful of Usyk and acknowledged the challenge that lies ahead for his fighter, but if anyone is going to pull this off, he believes it’s Verhoeven.

“If ever there's a guy who likes to climb Mount Everest, it's Rico Verhoeven,” Fury said. “He's a phenomenal person. He's just like Usyk. He's like Usyk in his beliefs, a really nice guy, and he's a credit to the sport. I can't speak highly enough of him. It's not going to be as easy as people think because he's not coming for a paycheck. He was offered a lot more money in other sports. He turned that down for this one, so he's super enthusiastic about it.

"Of course, it's a difficult challenge. I think Usyk is the best heavyweight in the world, and he's earned it, and he's got my total respect. I think he's a fabulous guy, but this is the sport we're in. It's heavyweight boxing. Anything can happen when that bell goes, and Rico is not coming to make the numbers; he's coming to win.”