Controversy Surrounding Rico Verhoeven's Fight Explained: 'Everyone a Bit Shocked'

"It was fantastic," reflects Gradus Kraus Sr., father of boxing sensation Gradus Kraus, on the Usyk-Verhoeven bout. He appreciated how Verhoeven proved many critics wrong in the ring. "Many people disagreed, because a kickboxer was suddenly fighting someone for whom there's a waiting list of a year and a half or two years," Kraus Sr. savors in an interview with Sportnieuws.nl.

"But what he has achieved in kickboxing, no one has ever done, and it won't happen again anytime soon. The best against the best." In the ring, Verhoeven certainly made his presence felt. He had the upper hand against the undefeated boxer. "With an unorthodox style," Kraus honestly admits. "He looked a bit strange moving. He's a giant of sorts; rough and lumbering. Yet, his approach was actually very fluid, but also stiff at the same time. You can see it worked, he did well, and few people expected that. Usyk had no answer, or it just wasn't coming out."

According to boxing expert Kraus, the true Usyk emerged once he started landing punches on Verhoeven. "He's boxed 300 fights, including his amateur career, so he's faced many styles. That's where experience comes into play. All in all, it was a surprise, and everyone was a bit shocked. I'm curious when their rematch will be and how it will unfold. I assume he'll have a different answer for Rico then. This wasn't what he expected."

Does the trainer of his son Gradus believe the stoppage was justified? "You're in the heat of the battle, and a referee is in the midst of a huge event at that moment. And if Rico had put his mouthpiece back in and stood up, he certainly wouldn't have recovered. Perhaps he would have been heavily knocked out in the twelfth round. Now he's a winner without having won. He forced that luck himself."