Back
Verhoeven, 1-1 (1 KO), gatecrashed the heavyweight landscape in May when he appeared on the verge of beating Oleksandr Usyk, only for the Ukrainian to rally and secure an 11th-round stoppage victory in Egypt.
With pressure mounting to face Agit Kabayel, Usyk subsequently relinquished his WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles. He has not fought since but was, for some time, thought to be heading towards a ‘last dance’ with Wilder.
It is understood that talks broke down for financial reasons.
Last week, Zuffa Boxing's Dana White confirmed that Jai Opetaia had agreed to face Wilder in Cardiff on December 11.
On Thursday, Opetaia's promotional stablemate Chris Billam-Smith told Sky Sports that he also believed the Australian would take on Wilder.
But Billam-Smith, who faces Cheavon Clarke on November 7, added: “If Opetaia was to pull out of the Wilder fight, I’ll fight Wilder… I’ve always wanted to fight him.”
Now Verhoeven has suggested to TalkSport that he, rather than Usyk, Opetaia or Billam-Smith, could be the man to face the fading 40-year-old slugger.
“We got an offer for the December 11 card,” he said.
“I can't confirm just yet [that I will be on the card].
“What I can confirm is that they offered me a fight with Deontay Wilder, and I said yes.”
Previous reports suggested that Verhoeven, from the Netherlands, was also being considered as a potential opponent for new IBF champion Filip Hrgovic.
Hrgovic, however, is contractually obliged to face mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez, with that bout in the works for Croatia early next year.
Back
Top
| Privacy Statement Terms of Service Contact |
Refresh
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Football Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Football Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.