USYK VS VERHOEVEN - UNDERCARD PREVIEW

It’s all eyes on the Pyramids of Giza this Saturday night, not just because it’s one of the eight wonders of the world, but because for the first time in history, a professional boxing card will take place right in front of it as Oleksandr Usyk defends his WBC & Ring Magazine World Heavyweight Titles against former kickboxing world champion Rico Verhoeven.

Before the main event, there’s a cracking undercard, so let’s take a close look at it.

Jack Catterall vs Shakhram Giyasov - WBA ‘Regular’ World Welterweight Title

A fight that quite literally came out of nowhere, Chorley’s popular Jack Catterall clashes with 2016 Olympic silver medallist Shakhram Giyasov for the WBA ‘Regular’ World Welterweight Title.

Two men who’ve had periods of inactivity in their professional careers that have very much put the brakes on, it’s Catterall who, out of the two, has started to build some promising momentum.

After his controversial loss to Josh Taylor back in 2022, Catterall fought just twice in the two years after that defeat. Since then though, he’s fought five times in a similar period and avenged his loss to Taylor, along with securing impressive wins over Harlem Eubank and, last time out, Ekow Essuman, where he put on a powerful display to stop the former British champion.

Now under the tutelage of Stephen Smith and John Gillies in Liverpool, Catterall goes into the fight full of confidence as he looks to become a world champion at the third time of asking.

As for Giyasov, it’s been a frustrating few years for the Uzbek. He’s fought just four times in the past four years and, in March of last year, just weeks before his fight with Franco Ocampo, his two-year-old daughter tragically passed away.

Incredibly, Giyasov showed incredible bravery to go ahead with the fight, where he secured an emphatic fourth-round stoppage victory.

Considering how talented he is, he probably hasn’t gotten the opportunities his talent deserves in the professional ranks. This, however, on one of the biggest cards in boxing history, is his opportunity to claim world honours and start to kick on and earn some big fights against the division’s biggest moneymakers.

In terms of the fight, it’s a tricky one to call. Two men who have the ability to be slick counter-punchers, but two men who, in their recent fights, have shown that they much prefer to fight on the front foot and control the centre of the ring.

This fight will likely come down to who’s the fresher of the two and who has the most professional experience and, if that is the case, it’ll likely be Catterall getting his hand raised after the final bell.

El Gato has boxed 248 rounds as a professional compared to Giyasov’s 95 rounds and, when there’s that much of a differential in experience, it often shows in fights of this magnitude.

If Catterall can assert his dominance from the centre of the ring early on and manhandle his Uzbek opponent at times, he’ll be in the driving seat for a big win here.

For Giyasov, he needs to take a leaf out of Arnold Barboza Jr’s book. Be elusive, frustrate Catterall, make him fall in with his shots and take him off his game plan.

To beat Jack Catterall, you need to unsettle him early on and not let him get the slightest bit of confidence. Whether Giyasov has the minerals to do that at this level, only time will tell.

Hamzah Sheeraz vs Alem Begic - Vacant WBO World Super-Middleweight Title

Now to a fight featuring two heavy-hitting super-middleweights as England’s Hamzah Sheeraz battles it out with Germany’s Alem Begic to be crowned the new WBO World Super-Middleweight Champion.

Undefeated as a super-welterweight and a middleweight, Hamzah Sheeraz fell just short in his first world title fight when drawing with Carlos Adames for the WBC World Middleweight Title.

Following that fight, he stepped up to 168lbs and what a decision that proved to be.

Up against Edgar Berlanga, a man whose only defeat as a professional to date came on points against Canelo Alvarez, Sheeraz obliterated him inside five rounds to well and truly announce himself as a serious contender at super-middleweight.

Fights with the likes of Diego Pacheco and Christian Mbilli have been attempted since that win, but he now finds himself up against the relatively unknown German, Begic, for world honours.

Unbeaten in 30 fights with 23 stoppages on his record, Alem Begic has gone far more under the radar than Sheeraz throughout his professional career.

He’s stopped four of his last five opponents, but he did have a minor speed bump back in 2019 when drawing with Tiran Metz. He returned from a three-year absence from the sport to outpoint Metz on his return and goes into the fight with Sheeraz in fine form.

His win against Mahdi Safdari looked like a good victory on paper. However, since that fight, Safdari has lost five of his eight fights, all by way of stoppage, so the form hasn’t worked out particularly well.

In terms of his fight with Sheeraz, on paper it does look a complete mismatch and that’s what it will likely be.

Begic has done well to get himself into world title contention but, to put the step up in levels into football terms, Begic is stepping up from non-league level to Premier League level.

If Sheeraz is in a similar mood to what he was in against Berlanga, expect this fight to be over fairly quickly and for the Brit to finally get his hands on a world title.

As for the rest of the card, there are some really good fights to look out for.

The face of women’s boxing in Japan, Mizuki Hiruta, defends her WBO World Flyweight Title against the exciting Mai Soliman, whilst heavyweight stars Frank Sanchez and Richard Torrez Jr battle it out in a final eliminator for Oleksandr Usyk’s IBF World Heavyweight Title.

The highly rated American cruiserweight Jamar Talley faces local star Basem Mamdouh, whilst Sultan Almohammed looks to move to 4-0 against Dedy Imprax.

Also on the card, Egyptian talents Omar Hikal and Mohamed Yehya will both be looking to impress when making their professional debuts on home soil.

An intriguing nine-fight card with four world title fights — don’t forget to tune in this Saturday night.

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