This is straight up fixed

Tom Aspinall strongly criticized the controversial stoppage in Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight boxing win over Rico Verhoeven.

Usyk retained his titles with a technical knockout victory in the 11th round on Saturday night in Giza, Egypt. The fight was stopped with one second remaining in the round after referee Mark Lyson stepped in during a barrage from Usyk against the ropes.

The ending immediately divided the combat sports world because Verhoeven was still standing, attempting to defend himself, and remained competitive on the scorecards entering the championship rounds. One judge had Verhoeven leading 96-94, while the other two scored the fight evenly at 95-95 after 10 completed rounds.

Reacting to footage of the stoppage, Aspinall openly accused boxing of protecting its established stars, stating:

“What a robbery! This is straight-up fixed. This fuc*ing thing is a disgrace, plain and simple… Rico’s literally dropping to his knees, they let him get up, and then because he ate a few unanswered shots with 10 seconds left, they wouldn’t even let him see the end of the round.”

He added:

“This is a straight-up fuc*ing robbery. What the hell is this? Fuc*ing boxing, that’s what… They don’t want anyone else to win. It’s that simple. They want amateurs to come in as boxers, win Olympic medals, then turn pro and go undefeated. That’s what they want. They don’t like people coming from other sports.”

Check out Tom Aspinall‘s comments below:

Verhoeven, widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight kickboxers ever, entered the fight as a massive underdog in only his second professional boxing appearance. Despite that, the Dutchman consistently troubled Usyk across the first 10 rounds with pressure, body work, and physicality that disrupted the Ukrainian champion’s rhythm.

The controversy intensified because the stoppage came with virtually no time left before the bell. Many fighters and analysts argued Verhoeven should have been allowed to survive the final second and continue into the 12th round with a full minute to recover.

Tom Aspinall talks about crossing over to boxing

Tom Aspinall recently made it clear he has no plans at the moment to leave the UFC for boxing.

The UFC heavyweight champion addressed crossover speculation during a training trip to Croatia, where he has been working with former WBA light heavyweight champion Stipe Drvis to improve his striking.

Discussing the possibility of crossing over to boxing in a recent conversation on Podcast Inkubator, Aspinall said:

“Maybe… To be honest, I ain’t thinking about boxing that much right now. I’ve got more stuff to do with the UFC.”

Speculation around Aspinall potentially crossing over into boxing increased because of his relationship with Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn and his growing profile outside MMA. However, Aspinall insisted his focus remains entirely on returning to UFC competition.

The British heavyweight has not fought since UFC 321 in October 2025, when his title defense against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest after suffering serious eye injuries from accidental pokes. Aspinall underwent double eye surgery earlier this year and has only recently returned to light training.

In his absence, the UFC booked Alex Pereira against Gane for the interim heavyweight title at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14. Aspinall is expected to face the winner later this year if his recovery continues progressing as planned.