“Boxing is more of a controlled environment, especially in the beginning,” Verhoeven said on DAZN. “The fighters get a good buildup. It's 'hey try this, try that, now we do this, now we do that.' In kickboxing, it’s 'try this. Oh, you lost? No worries, try again later.' It’s a different approach. I think it gives you more mental toughness in the later fights.”

On Saturday, Verhoeven, who has a record of 1-0 as a boxer, but 66-10 in kickboxing, will take on Oleksandr Usyk for The Ring and WBC titles in the headline fight of "Glory in Giza," live on DAZN. The pair will do battle in front of the iconic backdrop of the Pyramids.

Adding new hardware to his already flooded kickboxing trophy case is the dream. But doing so against someone as good as Usyk will be considered an all-time, monumental upset.

Verhoeven knows what he’s up against. Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) has beaten heavyweight stalwarts Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Daniel Dubois, twice each.

However, compared to everything he's already endured throughout his storied career as a world heavyweight champion in kickboxing, Verhoeven believes it'd be much harder of the roles were reversed and Usyk had to challenge him in his own discipline.

“I think it's tougher to transition from boxing to kickboxing. There’s a certain amount of pain you gotta endure as a kickboxer that’s just different,” Verhoeven said. “

"It’s different getting a shin to the thigh, or a shin to the arm. That’s bone on bone. Boxers wear gloves and you get punched in the face and you get punched in the stomach, and it’s not nice but it’s different. It’s protected ... a shin bone to the forehead, it's a different type of toughness."

"[But] something we found out during this camp, the difficulty with boxing, is the art of how long it is, you can flow with it way more. With [kickboxing] it's pedal to the metal, three rounds or five rounds ... and [in boxing] you have to go with the flow of 12 rounds. Sometimes you feel good, sometimes you feel bad and you have to deal with all these emotions throughout 12 rounds."