Heavyweight champ avoids shock upset with controversial stoppage

Ukraine's unbeaten heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk stopped Dutch former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven with one second left in the penultimate round of their WBC title fight to avoid what could have been one of the greatest boxing upsets.The fight at the Pyramids of Egypt was considered a mismatch but Verhoeven, whose sole previous professional boxing fight was 12 years ago, tore up the script in mind-boggling fashion from the opening bell with some scorecards putting him ahead.With Usyk weighing in heavier than ever and looking strangely lethargic at times, the 39-year-old Ukrainian went into the penultimate round needing to pull something out of the bag to be sure of a win most had taken for granted.It came right at the end of the 11th round, when Usyk dropped Verhoeven with a right uppercut "I was already super thankful for this opportunity for Usyk to take this fight."Verhoeven was fighting only for the WBC belt, with Usyk also risking the loss of his WBA and IBF ones, which would have been declared vacant titles had he been beaten.In the end, the Ukrainian extended his record to 25 unbeaten fights."This fight was hard