Chael Sonnen breaks down boxing's alleged "corruption" and "incompetence" after Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven fight

Chael Sonnen has broken down the controversial referee stoppage in the boxing heavyweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven. The MMA fighter-turned-combat sports analyst also addressed the alleged corruption and incompetence in how the sport of boxing is regulated. 

The star-studded 'Glory in Giza' event, which transpired on May 23, 2026, witnessed kickboxing legend and then-1-0 boxer Rico Verhoeven almost dethrone boxing's unified heavyweight kingpin Usyk.

The scores were even at 95-95 on two judges' scorecards, and the third judge had Verhoeven ahead at 96-94, after 10 rounds. However, Usyk knocked his foe down toward the end of the 11th round and again rattled him with a volley of punches -- leading the referee to wave the fight off and hand him the comeback win via 11th-round TKO. 

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven -- Chael Sonnen addresses the fallout

Taking to his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen touched upon the fallout from Usyk vs. Verhoeven. He alluded to claims from many fans and experts that the referee and judges were biased in favor of Usyk, a full-time boxer and established star of the sport, rather than Verhoeven, who hails from the sport of kickboxing. 

He stated, "So, Usyk beat Rico. Alright. Now, I'm assuming that by now, you have all heard that Rico was robbed." Sonnen suggested that celebrity-cum-boxer Jake Paul and many others claimed that the boxing system favored Usyk to win rather than letting a non-boxer (kickboxer, in this case) like Verhoeven to bag the victory. 

Sonnen opined that Verhoeven was robbed of a deserved victory. He affirmed, "He was. This was bad." He explained that one has always heard of the supposed corruption in boxing, adding that he himself hasn't bought as much into that theory in pro boxing as many others have. 

"The American Gangster" indicated that he feels corruption is more rampant in amateur boxing/Olympic boxing rather than in the pro boxing sphere. Nevertheless, he noted that it's because of how he defines corruption -- emphasizing that there's a dichotomy between corruption and incompetence in boxing. 

He proceeded to insinuate that if the referee hadn't ensured that Usyk was favored, the three ringside judges would've done the job by ensuring that the final scores would be in the boxer's favor. Sonnen said, "So, the judges would've handled it if the referee hadn't. Like, they all do appear to be working together."  

Chael Sonnen notes that the corruption allegations must be substantiated with evidence

Moreover, Chael Sonnen underscored that the allegations of corruption that are being levied at the boxing authorities and system ought to be supported by evidence that's easy to find, what with the amount of cameras covering the high-profile sports event. He implied, however, that in the absence of such evidence, the entire controversy can be attributed to incompetence rather than corruption. 

The former UFC star even seemed to suggest that fights in the Pride FC MMA organization were fixed. He highlighted that the evidence to substantiate the same was relatively easy to find, as the referee would have an earpiece in and receive instructions from the production team on how they want the fights to go. 

In regard to the controversial Usyk-Verhoeven stoppage, Sonnen said, "We're going to have to prove that somebody gave him a signal. Somebody had to give him a signal. Otherwise, he's incompetent. But there's a massive difference. We live with incompetence in everyday affairs; corrupt is very different." Furthermore, Sonnen jibed that incompetence is "very normal in the sport of boxing."  

 

Watch Sonnen discuss the topic below: