"The whole thing is a mistake" - Joe Rogan outlines errors in Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven stoppage

Joe Rogan has chimed in on the controversial referee stoppage in the recent unified heavyweight title boxing match that featured Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven.

The podcast mogul and combat sports analyst shed light on both sides of the argument -- suggesting that both Usyk and Verhoeven were wronged during different parts of the stoppage. 

Heading into the fight, many believed that Verhoeven, who's a kickboxing great but relatively inexperienced in the sport of professional boxing, would be thoroughly outskilled by boxing legend Usyk. However, their boxing bout was a closely contested one until late in the 11th round when Usyk knocked Verhoeven down. 

The ex-Glory Kickboxing heavyweight champion got back to his feet and was hit with another barrage of punches by Usyk. The referee then stepped in and waved off the fight, handing Usyk the TKO victory. Currently, the consensus is that Usyk could rematch Verhoeven next, or perhaps defend his unified heavyweight title against Agit Kabayel. 

Joe Rogan lambasts scorecards in Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven

On episode No. 179 of the JRE MMA Show, on his JRE (Joe Rogan Experience) podcast, UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently hosted "Big" John McCarthy and Josh Thomson. 

Rogan weighed in on the Usyk-Verhoeven stoppage and also received input from McCarthy, who's a veteran combat sports referee, and ex-UFC star Thomson. 

Heading into the 11th round of the high-profile boxing showdown, two of the three official judges had it 95-95 even, while one had it 96-94 in favor of Verhoeven. For his part, Rogan indicated that Verhoeven deserved to be much ahead of Usyk on the official scorecards: 

"The guy (Verhoeven) is such a cardio fiend, and he's always shredded. And he's just so used to combat, too, that like, getting in there and just fighting Usyk is not a big deal... Bro, he was winning 8-2 in my eyes. I thought he was winning 8-2 going into the 11th round when the fight was stopped." 

Joe Rogan breaks down chain of errors in Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven boxing match stoppage

Moreover, outlining the sequence of errors in the Usyk-Verhoeven stoppage, Joe Rogan touched upon both sides of the debate. On one hand, he acknowledged that Verhoeven received too much time to recover after getting knocked down. Implying that Usyk was wronged over there, he said: 

"Now, the fight shouldn't have been stopped the way it was stopped. But also, that wasn't eight seconds after the knockdown. So after he gets knocked down, he doesn't have his mouthpiece. So then they have to go over to his corner. They rinse off his mouthpiece." 

McCarthy chimed in and indicated that the entire sequence of events was a mistake, to which Rogan concurred. The latter then discussed the other side of the debate, alluding that the referee wronged Verhoeven by waving the fight off prematurely: 

"Yeah. The whole thing is a mistake. It takes, like, 30 seconds. And then the referee stops it when he (Verhoeven) is still standing, moving around." 

 

Watch Joe Rogan discuss the topic below (*comments at the 35:37-minute mark):