Once the spectacle and opening scene unfolded Saturday at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the slugfest went off script as Verhoeven surprised the astute technician like a snake charmer for 10 rounds.

But then the dramatic 11th round became the climactic moment of a dramatic thriller, as Usyk staved off the upset and scored a come-from-behind, controversial stoppage win.

After Usyk dropped Verhoeven with 22 seconds left in the penultimate round, the Ukrainian pushed the pace on the reeling Verhoeven once he got back up.

While Verhoeven admirably defended himself on his feet, referee Mark Lyson, seemingly thinking he was playing Statham’s part in “The Bank Job,” interfered with Verhoeven’s chance to see the ending by stepping in a split second or two after the bell had already sounded to wave off the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 2:59.

Verhoeven was up 96-94 on one scorecard, while the other two judges had it 95-95 apiece. If Verhoeven saw the 12th round, after what would have been a 10-8 round for Usyk, the Dutchman would have needed a knockdown of his own not to lose the fight on the cards.

“It's super disappointing. [The referee should have] let me go down on my shield. It is what it is. Of course, [I was shocked when the referee jumped in to stop it],” Verhoeven told The Ring in his dressing room after the fight. “It's bittersweet. It was close. I gave it my all and did my best, but it was just not enough.”

The chief storyline heading into the fight was that the novice Verhoeven would get steamrolled by an all-time great who’s already twice beaten Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

But Verhoeven banked many rounds — some would argue even more than scorecards indicated — to come close to pulling off the shocker as a +1100 betting underdog in just his second pro boxing bout.

Verhoeven landed 113 of 508 punches compared to 112 of 499 from Usyk, according to unofficial punch stats provided by CompuBox.

“I know the game plan was on point. We felt good. I was literally enjoying myself, maybe a little bit too much,” said Verhoeven.

Immediately after the fight, in addition to a potential rematch, attention for Usyk (26-0, 15 KOs) turned to giving Agit Kabayel, WBC interim champion and The Ring’s No. 2 contender, a well-deserved shot.

Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) entered the ring and called for the bout to take place on his home turf in Germany.

“I'd love an Usyk rematch, but it's not up to me,” said Verhoeven. “Boxing has its rules, and I already skipped the line once. I don't know how it's going to go. I am super thankful for the opportunity that Usyk took the fight.

“It was an amazing honor to share the ring with Usyk. I love it, to showcase myself against the very best.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan