David Haye has shared his assessment of how Rico Verhoeven would perform against Deontay Wilder in the ring.
Verhoeven recently stepped into the ring at the Pyramids of Giza for a high-profile bout against Oleksandr Usyk, marking only his second professional boxing contest after more than a decade away from the sport. The matchup drew criticism from fans who viewed it as uneven, yet Verhoeven nearly achieved a stunning victory before a disputed stoppage in round 11 allowed Usyk to retain his titles.
With speculation mounting that Verhoeven could join the undercard of the upcoming Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua event, Haye discussed the potential matchup with Wilder during an appearance on talkSPORT Boxing. Verhoeven has publicly stated his willingness to face the former champion.
“It depends on what version of Wilder shows up. The last version of Wilder, against [Derek] Chisora, he didn’t look like his former self. So, if he’s going to slip further away from that or is he going to somehow [roll back the years]?
“Because he has got that explosive power and Rico hasn’t got that history of avoiding big punches, he could zap him like he zapped everybody [years ago].”
While Haye leans toward a Wilder victory, he emphasized that Verhoeven has likely evolved significantly since his loss to Usyk.
“If that was Rico after his first fight, you learn a lot in your first fight against a world champion. You are only going to be better next time around.
“There are little movements that you have to learn to do boxing, particularly after jumping from kickboxing, he has only just made the adjustments. He has got another year of ingraining the right movements to be more of an effective heavyweight.”
Wilder most recently competed in April, securing a points victory over Chisora. In addition to a potential clash with Verhoeven, “The Bronze Bomber” has also been linked to a fight against cruiserweight standout Jai Opetaia on the Fury versus Joshua card.