How Jason Statham played a huge role in setting up Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven explained

One person who clearly was behind putting this somewhat strange bout together was Turki Alalshikh, who made it clear that he wanted this matchup for Usyk.

However, the most influential man in boxing today wouldn’t have ever arrived at this conclusion if it wasn’t for one of the sport’s biggest celebrity fans.

Will you tune in for Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven?

Comment below why you’re in or out on this clash of styles.

Jason Statham introduced Turki Alalshikh to Rico Verhoeven and pitched him the idea of them working together

On Monday, Ariel Helwani explained how Oleksandr Usyk facing Rico Verhoeven is a result of Jason Statham being the middle man between the Dutch kickboxing legend and Turki Alalshikh.

When Verhoeven made the decision to end his iconic title reign on his own terms by vacating his Glory belt last year, a potential matchup with Francis Ngannou was spoken about amongst fans.

“This someway, somehow, got to Jason Statham,” Helwani explained on The Ariel Helwani Show. “Jason Statham is a very good friend of Rico Verhoeven. Jason Statham is also a very good friend of Turki Alalshikh. Jason Statham pitched Turki Alalshikh Rico Verhoeven. Turki Alalshikh was not familiar with Rico Verhoeven and he said, ‘This is the guy, this is my boy.’”

Helwani went on to add that while these conversations didn’t amount to anything due to the timing not being right for Ngannou, Alalshikh was already committed.

The UFC showed interest in signing Verhoeven but he turned this down because he’d be able to make more money in boxing, though Helwani did say that the leading MMA promotion offered him “actually pretty good money”.

Statham’s name came up when there were talks of Verhoeven fighting Anthony Joshua in January, though the tragic crash that ‘AJ’ was involved in last December ruled that possibility out.

“They still have this deal and they still want to make a deal with Rico Verhoeven,” Helwani concluded. “So, they say, ‘Okay, what’s the next best thing? Let’s go to Oleksandr Usyk.’ And so that’s how this whole thing got made.”

Rico Verhoeven first met Jason Statham due to them being mutual fans of each other

In 2024, Rico Verhoeven told Bloody Elbow the story of how he first met Jason Statham.

While the Dutch kickboxer was doing interviews in the UK, he was told by a friend of his that they were in London shooting a movie with Statham and that the Hollywood star would love to meet him.

An hour and a half drive later, the two fans of each other’s work met for the first time.

“I was there just waiting while he was working,” Verhoeven recalled. “He was like, ‘I can’t believe you’re here, it’s so nice to meet you’. I was like, ‘I’m happy to be here’. That was one of my coolest moments.”