Oleksandr Usyk’s return to the ring comes against kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven. UFC heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, has weighed in after training with the Dutch fighter for a decade.

Following years of elite wins on the road – becoming undisputed cruiserweight champion and repeating the feat at heavyweight twice – Usyk is taking a spectacle fight against Verhoeven, staged at The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

Though many see the outcome as a foregone conclusion, Aspinall warned fans not to write the challenger off.

Speaking to Boxing News at a recent press conference to announce his signing with Matchroom Talent Agency, the MMA champ talked up his friend and training partner’s chances.

“I think Rico’s getting wrote off. Listen, I’ve been training with Rico for the last ten years, so I’m obviously pretty biased, he’s a good friend of mine. But he’s a big man. He’s had a lot of fights – fair enough they’re in a different sport – but if he hits him it could be over.

“Do I think that Rico’s a better boxer than Usyk? Absolutely not, I’m not saying that at all. But I think that he’s being wrote off and he’s definitely got a chance of winning.”

Should Verhoeven manage to do what many see as impossible, it would be one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. He would also, controversially, become WBC world heavyweight champion in his second pro boxing bout.

If Usyk keeps his undefeated record intact, he will be ordered to face WBC mandatory challenger, Agit Kabayel, next – a fight most fans will be more excited for.