Outraged! Tom Aspinall slams boxing and claims kickboxing icon was robbed against champion.

Aspinall in a photo shoot. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/tomaspinallofficial

As much as Francis Ngannou and many boxing fans and professionals, Tom aspinall He disagreed with the result of the super fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven, two legends of combat sports. Last Saturday (23), in Egypt, the Ukrainian knocked out the Dutchman in the 11th round and thus defended his heavyweight belts and his invincibility in the noble art, but the outcome of the duel was controversial. As he found the referee's decision strange, the UFC star was outraged when giving his opinion on the historic confrontation.

On his official YouTube channel, Aspinall, a friend and training partner of Verhoeven, stated unequivocally that Verhoeven was robbed and criticized boxing. It's worth noting that, despite the sport's tradition, its reputation is constantly questioned due to controversial results. In the ring, Usyk was so surprised that many suggested only a knockout would save him.

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In a delicate situation, the athlete went on the attack in the penultimate round and launched a blitz on the Dutchman, who didn't fall and seemed able to continue the fight. Even so, the referee stopped the fight, declaring the Ukrainian the winner. Disgruntled, Aspinall didn't forgive the referee and stressed that the controversy proves that boxing has seen better days, because no matter what Verhoeven did in the ring, his defeat was certain even before he stepped into action.

“I can’t believe it! In a title fight, he stopped the fight after five or six unanswered punches! Seriously? What the hell is that? What a robbery! What a setup! This is absurd! Rico staggered and fell to his knees, they let him get up with ten seconds left, he landed a few unanswered punches, and they didn’t even let him finish the round? It’s a blatant robbery! What the hell was that?”, said the fighter.

"Boxing doesn't want anyone else to win, plain and simple. They want amateur-style boxers, they want them to show up, win Olympic medals, and then become undefeated professionals. They don't like other combat sports. It's a farce! The bell rang. So, he stopped the fight after the round. Why not give him a chance?"

“It’s not like he was getting beaten up the whole time. He took a few punches in the 11th round and didn’t respond, with one round left. I can’t believe it. That’s messed up! What was that? What’s the point of making this whole thing in Egypt, these gigantic events, if the winner is already chosen before they even step into the ring?”

“There’s been a huge narrative against Rico from the start. ‘Oh, he’s not a boxer, he’ll never beat a boxer.’ He dominated a boxer for most of the fight, a boxer some consider the best of all time. What nonsense! I can’t believe it. Robbery!” he concluded.

Deployment

With the victory, Usyk remained undefeated in boxing, with 25 wins, and defended his heavyweight titles. However, due to the controversy, there is a chance the Ukrainian will give Verhoeven an immediate rematch.

Furthermore, the boxing legend made a point of acknowledging the Dutchman's skill and described him as his toughest opponent. The kickboxing icon, meanwhile, showed fair play and, despite the controversial result, congratulated 'The Cat'.