Oleksandr Usyk labelled 'old' by one of his major rivals

Agit Kabayel believes Oleksandr’s age was a huge factor is in his lacklustre showing against Rico Verhoeven in his last fight. 

Usyk laboured throughout the contest as he failed to get to grips the kickboxing legend, and at one point it looked like fight fans were about to see one of the biggest upsets in sporting history with the scorecards close going into the last two rounds. 

Instead, Usyk was able to find a huge response as he floored Verhoeven with just seconds of round 11 remaining and when the Dutchman climbed to his feet, a further attack from Usyk forced the referee to controversially intervene. 

In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Usyk was pressed on his next move with both Kabayel and Verhoeven insisting they receive the next shot. 

Kabayel is the WBC mandatory challenger, and he’s had to remain patient for his long-awaited world title fight, but what did he think about his rival’s performance? 

“I think he is old,” said Kabayel when speaking on Inside the Ring. “He's 39 years old, but I think Rico had a very unorthodox style. This was hard for Usyk. You can’t watch the fights from Rico. He didn’t understand what the plan was from Rico.  

“I think this is why the situation was different for Usyk. When he fights with other guys, he has so many fights he can watch, and he can make a game plan for the fights. I think that was a problem for Usyk.”