Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven will mark the WBC’s 137th in which a heavyweight world title – including the dreaded interim strap – has been on the line. There’s been plenty of legendary battles among them. Alas, there’s been the odd contest deemed a mismatch, too.

But not all mismatches on paper become mismatches in the ring. Think about two of Muhammad Ali’s rivals, for example; Leon Spinks, though an Olympic champion, was deemed far too green for the champion in 1978 but he went on to score one of the biggest upsets of all time, and Chuck Wepner, though largely outfought by Ali, put up enough of a scrap to inspire the Rocky Balboa series. 

So, perhaps, all is not lost for Rico Verhoeven, the kickboxer with a 1-0 boxing record being granted a shot at one of the greatest champions of the modern era...

10. Derek Chisora (L TKO 10 Tyson Fury, December 3, 2022)

Cruel on Derek Chisora to be included, perhaps, but his form heading into his unlikely challenge to Tyson Fury did not remotely merit a shot at the then-leading heavyweight on the planet. Though he’d huffed and puffed his way past Kubrat Pulev, “Del Boy” had lost three in a row prior to that. Furthermore, Fury had easily handled Chisora in their 2014 rematch which came three years after Fury won a wide decision in fight one. Thus, Fury-Chisora III became the most unnecessary trilogy fight of the modern era as Chisora, who barely landed a glove on the champion, endured one of the worst drubbings of his career.

9. Bermane Stiverne (L KO 1 Deontay Wilder, November 4, 2017)

Bermane Stiverne, the former WBC beltholder, had somehow clung on to his mandatory position with the organisation despite not fighting for the best part of two years. He agreed to step aside to allow Luis Ortiz to challenge Wilder, the man by whom he’d comprehensively been outpointed in 2015. Ortiz then failed a test and Stiverne stepped in at three weeks’ notice. Overweight, underprepared, and inactive for 720 days, Stiverne was folded inside three minutes.

8. Peter Okhello (L UD 12 Oleg Maskaev, October 12, 2006)

In a transitional phase in heavyweight history, Peter Okhello was gifted a WBC shot at Russian Oleg Maskaev in 2006. The Ugandan had lost to Sinan Samil Sam 18 months before, rebounded to beat the ancient Aussie Bob Mirovic over 12 rounds, seeing his ranking rise inexplicably in the process, before he lost every round to Maskaev in Russia.

7. Alfredo Evangelista (L UD 15 Muhammad Ali, May 16 1977)

So underwhelmed by the threat of Spain-based Uruguayan Alfredo Evangelista, Muhammad Ali boxed two exhibitions, against Michael Dokes and Jody Ballard, one month before this 15-rounder. Evangelista, good at European level but lacking in world class, had lost his previous bout – an eight-rounder to Lorenzo Zanon – before managing to take the aging Ali the distance, losing widely. Somehow, he would secure another undeserved shot, only to be stopped by Larry Holmes, the following year.

6. Chuck Wepner (L TKO 15 Muhammad Ali, March 24, 1975)

Labelled a club fighter, and rightly so before his undeserved shot at Muhammad Ali, Chuck Wepner could boast one-sided stoppage defeats to George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Joe Bugner among his nine losses. “Wepner is unquestionably a poor challenger,” reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “he doesn’t belong in the same ring with the talented Ali.” Wepner went on to take a pounding, though the fluke knockdown he scored along the way proved the inspiration for the creation of Rocky Balboa.

5. Leon Spinks (W SD 15 Muhammad Ali, February 15, 1978)

Leon Spinks was not ranked among the leading contenders by anyone heading into his shot at Muhammad Ali in 1978. Nor should he have been. Held to a draw by Scott LeDoux in the only truly noteworthy outing on his 6-0-1 record, the raw Spinks – though he’d won Olympic gold in 1976 – was a long way below the likes of Ken Norton, Jimmy Young, and Larry Holmes, each far more deserving. We all know what happened next, however.

4. Scott Frank (L TKO 5 Larry Holmes, September 10, 1983)

Scott Frank wasn’t completely unknown – he was ranked 20th by The Ring – before he earned a reported $350,000 to be target practice for Larry Holmes, the world’s premier big man. That he was thrashed inside five rounds was no surprise. His best victories prior to his chance were 10-round decisions over Steve Zouski and Mike Jameson.

3. Terry Daniels (L TKO 4 Joe Frazier, January 15, 1972)

There were reports that world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, after beating Muhammad Ali in the ‘Fight of the Century’, had been advised to not fight again such was the damage he accrued in that titanic 15-rounder. That, perhaps, explained the selection of Terry Daniels – knocked out by Jack O’Halloran four months prior – as "Smokin' Joe's" next challenger. Regardless, Frazier was such a prohibitive favorite that no betting line was established. Daniels, who ended his career with 30 defeats, was dropped five times before the fourth-round finish.

2. Jose Roman (L KO 1 George Foreman, September 1, 1973)

Unranked by The Ring, the WBA, or the WBC before signing to become George Foreman’s first challenger, Jose Roman found himself in the heavyweight Top 10 of both sanctioning bodies by the time the ink was dry. The Puerto Rican, even though on a six-fight win streak since losing to the 3-7-1 Robie Harris in 1971, was thrashed in exactly two minutes by the heavyweight boss.

1. Rico Verhoeven (challenges Oleksandr Usyk, May 23, 2026)

It’s likely that Verhoeven, greatly educated in the world of combat sport, will fare better than several of the challengers listed here but, bottom line, his last professional boxing match occurred in 2014. That victory, over the 0-5 Janos Finfera, took Verhoeven’s record to 1-0 (1 KO) and, surely, makes him the least deserving WBC heavyweight title challenger in history.