JAKE PAUL and the boxing world blasted referee Mark Lyson after Oleksandr Usyk scored a late stoppage win against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.
In a series of posts on social media, the YouTuber-turned-boxer was one of a number of fighters who made their feelings about the controversial early ending heard.
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RIco Verhoeven was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk with just ONE SECOND of round 11 to go Credit: Reuters
Jake Paul was one of a number of people from the boxing world to criticise the stoppage Credit: Splash
Verhoeven had been ahead on the scorecards at the time of the TKO – which came ONE SECOND before the bell was due to ring in round 11.
Despite being the pound-for-pound king, Usyk struggled against Verhoeven, whose awkward style and hard punching saw him rack up rounds.
While two judges had the score level after 10 rounds and one had him just two ahead, DAZN analyst Mike Coppinger had it scored 98-92 to the Dutchman.
And Paul, whose fighting future is in doubt after the broken jaw suffered at the hands of Anthony Joshua, was one of those left angry on social media.
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He wrote: “I mean that’s the most insane s*** I’ve ever seen.
“Rico winning every round and the moment the ref sees to end it then he ends it, are you kidding.
“I’m the biggest Usyk fan but bro you lost that s***.
“Shoutout to Rico for beating his ass every round and getting jipped. Damnnnnnn.”
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The Home of Boxing in 2026
There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring.
Oleksandr Usyk takes on the king of kickboxing Rico Verhoeven and Fabio Wardley will defend his newly won heavyweight crown against fellow Brit Daniel Dubois.
Anthony Joshua returns to the ring in July to face Kristian Prenga ahead of a potential blockbuster bout against Tyson Fury later in the year.
Canelo Alvarez will be hoping to make a comeback after his defeat to Terence Crawford, while Dave Allen will also be looking to get back to winning ways against Filip Hrgovic.
A whole bunch of British stars could also take a leap into superstardom, with the likes of Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim ready to join the very top of the sport.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
May
Sat 23 – Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven – WBC title – DAZN
Sat 30 – Dmitry Bivol vs Michael Eifert – DAZN
Sat 30 – Adam Azim vs Steve Claggett – DAZN
June
Sat 6 – Fame Fighting v Misfits Boxing – The Jattvibe
Sat 6 – Dalton Smith vs Alberto Puello – WBC super lightweight title – DAZN
Sat 6 – Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki – Paramount+
Sat 13 – Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall – DAZN
Sat 13 – Antonio Vargas vs Jesse “Bam” Rodrigues – DAZN
Sat 20 – Ryan Garner vs Michael Magnesi – DAZN
Sat 27 – Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis – DAZN
July
Sat 25 – Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga – DAZN
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He then added: “Crazy that Rico Verhoeven the best boxer of our generation and he ain’t boxed hahahah. S***’s insane.
“It’s like when y’all think Francis [Ngannou] better than me and he goes unconscious in 1 round.
“Fam it’s embarrassing that boxing can be disrupted like that but it is what it is.”
World champ Shakur Stevenson wrote: “Oh s***”, before adding: “Usyk turned it on when he needed, the ref helped for sure, but who’s to say Usyk wasn’t gone get him out of there he had plenty time.. Bad night in the office don’t look like he was in tip top shape to me!
“Agreed 100 per cent the ref robbed us of what was gone happen next.
“Now run the rematch.”
Devin Haney’s father Bill wrote: “Terrible stoppage.”
British prospect William Crolla added: “I’m a professional boxer and it might be rigged.”
MMA stars also waded into the debate, with UFC star Belal Muhammed writing: “Boxing is so corrupt.”
WHile Dillon Danis wrote: “That was the most rigged s*** I’ve ever seen.
“Never watching boxing again. What a f***ing joke of a sport.
“Rico Verhoeven just schooled one of the best boxers in the world and still got robbed.
“F*** boxing, he won that fight.”
