Over the course of his unforgettable run to the undisputed cruiserweight crown and then throughout his career as a heavyweight, Usyk has always been happy to travel in order to secure the most significant fights in the sport.

And on Saturday night, the Usyk roadshow will make its most captivating stop yet as he defends his world heavyweight crown against the backdrop of the ancient Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, on The Ring's "Glory in Giza" card.

But this is no ordinary fight as Usyk has stepped away from his usual list of heavyweight contenders in order to face "The King of Kickboxing" Rico Verhoeven, a man who has been equally dominant in his chosen discipline.

The Dutchman has one fight on his boxing record, a second-round knockout of Janos Finfera in April 2014, but he applied himself fully to kickboxing thereafter and is now undefeated in 11 years.

Despite that formidable record, very few are giving him a chance in a boxing match, where The Ring and WBC titles will be on the line, against one of the best heavyweights of all time. But just outside the ancient city of Cairo, can 37-year-old Verhoeven cause an upset for the ages?

The picks are in from The Ring’s Mike Coppinger and Max Kellerman. Think you can beat them? Predict winners for prizes.

Oleksandr Usyk: “Listen, he has only had one boxing fight but in kickboxing, he has been unbeaten for many years and he has a lot of fighting experience to put it mildly. You can never know everything about your opponent, even when he has had many fights in boxing. There is always something new. For me, this is a real fight. I prepared for it like I prepare for any serious fight.”

Rico Verhoeven: “My strength is being different. I think he's dissected the sport of boxing to another level. So he knows exactly that if you do this thing, you do this. But I'm a kickboxer so I think that's going to be the biggest difference. And especially with the weight difference is as soon as I clip him, yeah, he's going to feel that. There's going to be at least a 20kg difference. I totally understand the whole situation and the dynamic that we're in. He's like the unbeatable guy. What an opportunity I have to show that he's not that unbeatable.”

It is no surprise that Oleksandr Usyk is priced as a huge 1/16 favourite (-1600), which means an implied probability of an Usyk victory is above 94 per cent. For those who are picking the upset, Verhoeven has been made as wide as 14/1 (+1400) with some oddsmakers while the draw is available at a huge 50/1 (+5000).

There are huge fights across what is perhaps the best undercard of the year. At super-middleweight, Hamzah Sheeraz and Alem Begic fight for the vacant WBO title last held by Terence Crawford.

Jack Catterall faces the undefeated "Wonder Boy" Shakhram Giyasov for the chance to catapult themselves into some more huge fights at 147 pounds.

The Ring’s 2025 Female Fighter of the Year Mizuki Hiruta will put her Ring and WBO super flyweight titles on the line against Egyptian-born challenger Mai Soliman, who is one a nine-fight winning streak.

And while the heavyweight crown is on the line in the main event, contenders Richard Torrez Jr. and Frank Sanchez will clash in a 12-round fight to decide which of them will take the next step towards a world title shot of their own.

At a purpose-built venue at Pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

The main card will be shown live on DAZN pay-per-view and starts at 9pm Egypt time, 7pm UK, 2pm EST. Prelims will be broadcast live on Ring Magazine socials from 6pm Egpy time, 4pm UK, 11am EST.