Canelo Alvarez Defends Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven Stoppage

Canelo says the referee prevented a brutal knockout while debate around the controversial ending continues across boxing

Canelo Alvarez says the referee made the correct decision by stopping Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight fight against Rico Verhoeven despite growing backlash surrounding the ending. The Mexican star believes the referee prevented Verhoeven from absorbing a more damaging finish late in the eleventh round.

“It was a good fight. I don’t think so [that it was an early stoppage],” said Canelo Alvarez to Pro Boxing Fans.

“I think they saved a brutal knockout.”

The comments came after Verhoeven pushed Usyk far harder than many expected during the crossover heavyweight fight at the Pyramids of Giza. Verhoeven had success with pressure and physicality during several of the early and middle rounds before Usyk finally took over late.

Some former fighters, including Tony Bellew, felt Verhoeven deserved the chance to continue into the final round.

Canelo sided with the referee instead.

Rico was actually leading on one card and dead even on the other two when the ref waved it off. That is a massive detail. It changes the entire narrative from a late-round beatdown to an absolute heartbreaker for Verhoeven.

At the time of the stoppage, the scores were 95-95, 95, and 96-94 for Rico. With those exact scores, Canelo saying the referee “saved a brutal knockout” looks completely wrong. Rico was right on the verge of pulling off a historic upset or at least securing a majority draw against the top heavyweight on the planet. To take that away from a guy in the 11th round when he only had one bad three-minute stretch is a terrible look for the sport.

Canelo is completely missing the mark here. He is looking at the final moments in a vacuum instead of respecting the incredible work Rico did over the first ten rounds to earn his chance to finish the fight.

When a referee jumps in right as the bell rings, it looks incredibly suspicious, especially with Rico ahead or even on the official scorecards. It just feeds right into the narrative that the establishment wasn’t going to let a kickboxing star come over and upset the top heavyweight.

DAZN’s “remarkable comeback” comment is spot on for Usyk, but the referee completely ruined what should have been a legendary finish. By waving it off right at the bell, the official took away Rico’s chance to survive the round, get back to his corner, and see if he could pull off a miracle in the 12th.

Canelo defending this mess is wild. He is completely ignoring the fact that Rico fought his heart out for ten rounds and was right there on the cards.

The Mexican star is currently preparing for his own return in September, when he faces WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli in Riyadh. Meanwhile, debate around the Usyk-Verhoeven stoppage continued across social media after scorecards revealed the fight remained competitive before the finish.

Share on Facebook

Post on X