Is Rico Verhoeven about to do the unthinkable and upset world heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk? Well, no, of course he’s not, but what Usyk ultimately looks like and how he wins are certainly worthwhile questions. So too is the status of the belts as, in different ways, each of the WBC, IBF and WBA somehow approve this as a championship contest.

Better is the undercard where Frank Sanchez and Richard Torrez Jr meet in a solid heavyweight eliminator and Jack Catterall goes in tough against Shakram Glyasov. Hamzah Sheeraz, however, might have an even easier night than Usyk when he battles Alem Bagic for a vacant title.

The Opening Bell, the independent voice in boxing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices