Tom Aspinall isn’t among them.

The reigning UFC heavyweight champion believes Verhoeven has a shot at pulling off the unthinkable when he faces Usyk in a 12-round heavyweight bout May 23 at Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The WBC has sanctioned the bout, which will headline a Ring card streamed by DAZN, as a voluntary title defense for Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs), who also holds The Ring, IBF and WBA belts.

“I’m always going to be biased for Rico because Rico’s my friend,” Aspinall told The Ring. “I’m surprised how close-minded the boxing community is when it comes to other combat athletes coming in, sometimes in a way that they don’t give them a chance. Rico is a big dude who can punch really hard, so to me, that gives him a chance of winning.

“Am I saying that he’s a better boxer than Usyk? No. There’s no one on the planet who's a better boxer than Usyk. Do I think he’s going to win? It’s tough for me to sit here and be honest and be like, ‘Rico is going to win the fight easily,’ but do I think he’s got a chance? Absolutely, I think Rico’s got a chance. The guy is so mentally strong, so confident and he’s done so much in his career in kickboxing. He absolutely has a chance of winning.”

Verhoeven has gone 66-10, including 21 knockouts, as a kickboxer and has one professional boxing match under his belt, which he won by second-round knockout against a winless Janos Finfera in 2014. The 36-year-old Dutch kickboxer was the reigning heavyweight champion in Glory, the top kickboxing organization in the world, from 2013 to 2025.

Verhoeven vacated the title in November. He last fought June 14, defeating former Glory light heavyweight champion Artem Vahitov by unanimous decision.

Still, beating Usyk, a three-time undisputed champion, is a task that the best of the best boxers who have dedicated their lives to the sport haven’t been able to achieve.

Usyk, 39, was the undisputed champion at cruiserweight and then accomplished the feat twice at heavyweight. He became the fully unified heavyweight champion for the second time in his last fight, when he defeated Daniel Dubois by fifth-round knockout in their rematch July 19 in London. The Ukrainian southpaw also boasts two points wins apiece over former champs Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

While Aspinall gives his friend a chance to pull off one of the biggest upsets in sports history, he acknowledges how difficult the task is for Verhoeven.

“I think for a boxer, it’d be very awkward,” Aspinall said of facing Verhoeven. “Boxers all do similar stuff, whereas Rico might give him a few different looks that he’s not used to. But look, I’m aware of how good Usyk is. He’s unbelievable. So, it’s exciting, isn't it? It’s exciting stuff.”