Verhoeven recounts sparring with Fury

Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven shared details about his sparring sessions with former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (34–2–1, 24 KOs).

On May 23 in Egypt, two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (24–0, 15 KOs) of Ukraine will defend his WBC title against Verhoeven.

Despite having only one professional boxing match, Rico has sparred with “The Gypsy King” in the past and trains under Peter Fury, Tyson’s uncle.

“It was a long time ago. He was here in the Netherlands, training with his uncle Peter Fury, who is still my coach. They were looking for sparring partners.

Then my coach, Dennis Krauweel, said: ‘Look, there’s a tough guy here. He’s looking for sparring, and I think it would be good for you.’ I said: ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’

It was one hell of a sparring session. He completely surprised me, and I thought: ‘Wow, that was crazy. I like it. I can learn a lot from this guy,’” Verhoeven said.