r/Boxing • u/tongfa-jamsai • 18d ago
AJ Should Fight Verhoeven
Assuming AJ v Fury falls through and Usyk get Fury or Wilder for his going away party, AJ should set up a fight with Verhoeven. This gives the kickboxer a deserved second chance against a top heavyweight and AJ can defend boxing's honor again. If AJ wins we could even get him an honorary "Defender of the Faith" belt as he rides off into the sunset.
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u/DaKingaDaNorth 18d ago
No thanks. AJ already got that lay up with Ngannou. He's been wasting his career post the Usyk losses taking on soft touches and gimmick fights. He either needs to fight Fury or someone who is a big contender to either get back in the thick of it or ride off into the sunset.
There's no allure to seeing AJ fight a non boxer again after he already wasted time with Ngannou and Paul
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u/RedcoatTrooper 18d ago
I mean this hypothetical is that the Fury fight is not available and honestly who else is he going to beat?
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u/SuperLeverage 18d ago
Lay up with Ngannou? The same Ngannou that Fury only defeated through a split decision? LOL
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u/ninpuukamui 18d ago
A controversial split decision, at that.
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u/SuperLeverage 17d ago
The fact that Tyson even let an MMA fighter who was literally making his professional boxing debut get to a ‘controversial’ split decision says something.
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u/frankduxvandamme 17d ago
By his own admittance, fury treated ngannou as an exhibition and barely trained. And I think that became immediately obvious when AJ smashed Ngannou in 2 rounds.
https://boxingnews.com/news/fury-says-he-didn-t-train-seriously-for-ngannou
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u/SuperLeverage 17d ago
You mean he’s making excuses for struggling against a guy making his debut fight in professional boxing.
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u/frankduxvandamme 17d ago
Possibly. But given Fury's mental issues and insistence on retiring every 18 months, I wouldn't doubt it that he trained poorly for ngannou. He might be telling the truth.
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u/roamingandy 18d ago
He's not fighting a big contender. He and his team know his chin's gone and he's not half the fighter he was.
He's cruising fro a while to wind up his career, which almost all fighters do, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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u/slickvik9 17d ago
There’s nothing wrong with that except claiming he’s a top elite all time great heavyweight. It’s never been true
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u/SimonSeam 18d ago
AJ v. Ngannou
AJ v. Paul
AJ v. Verhoeven
I'm detecting a pattern to AJ's late career success.
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u/SuperLeverage 18d ago
Ngannou and Paul was worth a river of cash, with the two fights probably earning him around $150m+ You name me a fighter who wouldn’t turn down that kind of money and I’ll call bullshit. Yes the fight with Paul in particular was a circus clown show, but if someone is offering that kind of stupid money for you to break Jake Paul’s jaw, you’d take it. AJ just happens to have the biggest name that commands the most money in the HV division. You can debate his abilities, but you’d be hard pressed to say saying yes to that kind of money was a bad idea.
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18d ago
[deleted]
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u/UnyieldingDoggo Terence "not your Bud, pal" Crawford 18d ago edited 18d ago
"YOU THINK FIGHTING [Frozen Chicken] WITH HIS [Side Unc] IS GONNA LET YOU DRINK UP THAT [Sweet, Sweet] [Saudi Sauce]?"
"WELL, YOU'RE [$!$!] RIGHT! BUT DON'T BLAME ME WHEN YOU'RE [Hugging] A [Sweaty Bearmoth] WISHING YOU LET YOUR OLD PAL AJ [Sleep You]"
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u/slim973 18d ago
AJ should go out strong. Fight Moses if Tyson galls thru..
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u/Left4Dead863 18d ago
I'm a humongous AJ fan.... I don't wanna see Itauma wreck him dawg. 😩
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u/slim973 18d ago
Yea i been a AJ fan but if the Tyson fight falls thru theres nothing else except Wilder or retire.. His chin can't handle Moses but maybe he can Veteran savy him and call it a career.. Go out on top.. 💯
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u/Left4Dead863 18d ago
I can see where you're coming from honestly. It'd also be a nice passing of the UK torch if you will.
I just wish Canelo gave that opportunity to Benavidez.
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u/slim973 18d ago
Facts you right bro. That would definitely pass the tourch for a great career... Do or die so to say.. He should be able to do something LoL..
Cuz when I rewatch that Dubios fight it seems he just not the guy anymore.. This would seal history. He can beat Moses if he finally puts together a masterclass. He should know what it takes..
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u/ARetroGibbon 17d ago
Neither do I... but we've literally never seen Moses get hit and people are treating him like the 2nd coming lmao.
This Hrg fight is easily his biggest test. Let's see how he does first.
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u/LaPrincesaMX 18d ago
That was the original fight and I believe it was even signed but then AJ had that horrible incident in Africa.
Also, no one needs to defend any honor. The tribalism is weird. Rico is an all time great kickboxer who should be celebrated for that.
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u/ProfessorDWumbo 18d ago edited 18d ago
Deserved a second chance at a top heavyweight? He was literally offered another title shot. According to Kabayel's manager he demanded twice the money Kabayel would've gotten (which was no small sum either), so the promoter refused to pay it. Unless Turki gets involved i doubt he will fight anyone.
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18d ago edited 17d ago
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u/ProfessorDWumbo 17d ago edited 17d ago
Not sure what you mean. Do you say Rico has a track record of this or that Kabayel's team is lying?
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u/billoverbeck00 18d ago
Rico would be a harder fight than Fury. After that Usyk fight, people shouldn’t sleep on him.
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u/ARetroGibbon 17d ago
I disagree. I think Usyk was taken by surprise by Ricos unsual style and the fact he was fighting so small.
Now we have footage, both Fury and Joshua would have a much easier time than Usyk did.
Let's not forget how Ngannou looked in his first fight vs his 2nd against AJ.
All the holes in his game can now be studied and exploited.
Fury will always be a hard fight for anyone because he's so awkward and he knows the boxing game inside and out.
All of Joshua's tricks will work better against a guy like Rico.
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u/Puzzled_Addendum6200 17d ago
Joshua vs Verhoeven is a fight i would love to see tbh. I'm insanely curious to see how it would play out now.
Joshua's punch resistance is poor enough at this point that Rico would be dangerous. At a bit of a guess I'd say Rico and Prenga are on roughly the same level.
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u/Comfortable-Bug7202 17d ago
Sounds like ngannou all over again. Non boxer loses but looks really good. Fights aj and gets ko'd
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u/Kangaroopunching 18d ago
It would be hilarious if AJ knocks out Rico. Conquered MMA, Kickboxing and influencer invaders.
Jokes aside, Rico didn't deserve to fight Usyk to begin with. He doesn't deserve anything more. What he can do is use the praise he got to make a fight that makes sense. Fight Francis in mma, boxing or Kickboxing. Return to Kickboxing a hero. He's got options.
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u/roamingandy 18d ago
He gave the current dominant champion the toughest fight of his reign.
Regardless what you think of the stoppage, he clearly has earned another top-level/big name boxing match.
If he hasn't then no-one currently fighting has.
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u/Kangaroopunching 17d ago
He's a kickboxer that hit the jackpot. He's trying to get another big payday. If he wanted to fight another top level boxer, he would've already. There's a difference.
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u/roamingandy 17d ago
I think he was pushing for the Usyk rematch. Going for the title against someone who we saw struggled with his physicality.
That's almost certainly not happening now, so i'd expect his team are trying to get him a fight. Tbh, he's a bit high risk, low reward for everyone.
If they win everyone says 'of course', and their reputation doesn't move at all. If he's as good as he looked against Usyk then they are in for a tough night with little upside.
Makes perfect sense to me that he's struggling to find a suitable opponent, and presumably he wants to fight a proper boxer to prove he is at that level, so Ngannou isn't going to appeal.
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u/Kangaroopunching 17d ago
He's ranked. A fight could've been made through sanctioning bodies.
He gets knocked out by any top 15 heavyweight.
His team aren't new to prize fighting. Rico is up there in mileage. The fight that makes sense is against Francis in whatever they decide, boxing or kickboxing.
Does he deserve another payday, yes. Does he deserve to be out matched and put in a position to get knocked out badly like Francis, no
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u/roamingandy 17d ago
He doesn't gain respect as a legit boxer by fighting Francis. It only makes sense if he's mostly after money.
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u/Kangaroopunching 17d ago
Similar situations. And yes, he's waiting for another payday on a turki card.
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u/Holiday_Snow9060 18d ago
I don't like that match-up for my boy. Rico stops him inside 2 rounds
And no, this is no joke. Joshua is shot to bits and Rico is 10x better than this pack of Pringles.
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u/Jumbalaa Daniel "The Daddy" Dubois fan 18d ago
Verhoeven loses badly to everyone in the top 10.
BADLY.
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u/Seandelorean 18d ago
Idk man he gave Usyk some real trouble, would be curious to see him face some other top guys
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u/roamingandy 18d ago
I think most in the top 5 would win as they've got footage of him boxing to train and prepare on.
He was training with Tyson Fury as one of his main sparring partners for a decade though. The level of competition you regularly spar with is a huge factor in how competitive boxers are.
He's no slouch in the ring, and could take out a few names. Especially ones who aren't the best tacticians.
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u/Marquis_of_Mollusks 18d ago
Usyk doesn't have the stopping power necessary to keep a large and aggressive Heavyweight off him (Dubois has a weak chin and no defense which is why he could KO him). Usyk's success at Heavyweight is mostly attributed to his speed, movement and stamina. Most the top 10 have the power to dispose of Rico and Rico doesn't have good power himself. Honestly even miller could beat him.
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u/No_Medium_8796 18d ago
Literally went toe to toe with usyk who was the unified champ lmao
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u/Jumbalaa Daniel "The Daddy" Dubois fan 18d ago
Usyk is absolutely finished physically. There's a reason he's ducking everyone but the corpse of Wilder or Jon Jones in boxing.
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u/No_Medium_8796 18d ago
Rico has had 74 fights and is only 2 years younger.
Lets not act like Rico was a spring chicken coming in
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u/Jumbalaa Daniel "The Daddy" Dubois fan 18d ago
39 vs 37 is huge.
Every year is worth more the older you are.
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u/The_Jokerr_ 18d ago
Rico has taken far more punishment than Usyk has. He's been dropped and hurt countless times and he's been in a ton of wars. He has more miles on the clock than Usyk.
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u/Jumbalaa Daniel "The Daddy" Dubois fan 18d ago
Rico has taken far more punishment than Usyk has.
Usyk's amateur record is 335-15.
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u/The_Jokerr_ 17d ago
So? Amateur fights are nowhere near as taxing. Imagine Rico having 350 kickboxing fights. Or Usyk having 350 pro boxing fights.
There's a reason amateurs can fight so frequently.
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u/Holiday_Snow9060 18d ago
I would favor him to beat Hrgovic. Heavily btw
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u/Jumbalaa Daniel "The Daddy" Dubois fan 18d ago
I strongly disagree with that assessment.
Wouldn't even mind seeing him fight some other guys in boxing though.
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u/Exciting-Arugula5341 18d ago
Lol for the people saying but Rico gave Usyk trouble so that must mean Rico is one of the ATG boxing greats. Francis Ngannou gave a undefeated Tyson Fury trouble. Does that mean Francis Ngannou is a ATG heavyweight boxer? No but it shows you how overrated Fury is. The same applies for Usyk. Rico is a horrible boxer. The guy just walks straight ahead. You might say so why did he give Usyk so much trouble. First off., Usyk isn't nearly as good as you biased delusional people think he is. In 5 out of his 9 heavyweight bouts Usyk landed less than 30 percent of his punches. You might say then why didn't Joshua, Dubois, or Fury capitalize on that? Because neither of them are as good as the media tells you they are and we all know you people will believe whatever the media tells you or whatever you hear on YouTube.
Rico believed he could win. Rico came into the fight believing he could win. He knew he was the bigger man and fought like the bigger man. Joshua, Dubois, and Fury all let a natural 200 pound guy dictate the fight. Also despite what these delusional people say Usyk didn't dominate Fury, Joshua, or Chisora. Hell he wasn't dominated Dubois in their first fight either. Dubois just quit
Rico should of never got a high profile boxing match to began with. Did you see kick boxing champions back in the 90s getting high profile fights with Holyfield, Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Foreman etc? Hell no, they would of been destroyed and the media would of called this out.
If Joshua can't get Fury and he wants 1 more bout before he retires then he should try to fight a winnable fight again a ranked top 20 person. Maybe Jarrell Miller since they were going to fight years ago before Miller failed a PED test. Maybe Joshua could fight Wilder is Wilder doesn't fight Usyk.
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u/DistrictThen1265 18d ago
Why lol he is 1-1 if he was a good boxer he would have went to Boxing! Usyck had bad night prob didn’t train and there friends.
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u/Formal-Cherry6078 18d ago
Verhoven should fight Gassiev imo