'Chance of a lifetime' for top fighter Rico Verhoeven (37): 'This is ridiculously huge'

Fighting Usyk, with the iconic pyramids of Egypt as a backdrop, is a dream come true for the Dutchman. On Tuesday, April 14th, in London, he will come face-to-face with his opponent, who stands between him and the WBC world title on May 23rd.

"This is ridiculously huge globally, and there's so much attention. It's incredibly cool. This is what you do it for," says Verhoeven, who recently celebrated his 37th birthday quietly, to the Algemeen Dagblad. "This is the chance of a lifetime."

The 39-year-old Usyk is a world-class opponent; the Ukrainian, with his distinctive mustache, has won all 24 of his professional bouts. He is also the reigning heavyweight world champion across all sanctioning bodies. "For the first time, I feel like I can truly put the Netherlands on the map," Verhoeven states. "In kickboxing, I've always been the best, but this has never happened before. There has never even been a Dutch boxer who has fought for this title."

During his training camp for the fight against Usyk, Verhoeven lost his mother. "Then you get an opportunity like this, one of the craziest things ever in my life, and then that happens. You think: oh, okay... The good thing is that afterwards, you have something to occupy yourself with, to take your mind off things."

His own children might not always grasp the magnitude of the upcoming fight. They might find it difficult to distinguish between all his previous fights and this one against Usyk. "But then I explain that we are going to make history. That I will be one of the greatest fighters ever once this succeeds, and I'll go down in the history books for something that has never been done before."