For the first time in over a year, Rico Verhoeven will enter the kickboxing ring tonight. He doesn’t do that on Glory, but on Hit It. An entertainment show that the world champion himself co-founded.

Tonight there will be dancing and singing at Rotterdam Ahoy. And there are some “celebrity” kickboxing duels, such as between former cyclist Michael Boogerd and TV personality Dan Karaty. The last piece of the evening will be a fight between Verhoeven and Hesdy Gerges.

“The outcome of this fight is actually already certain in advance. That’s a shame, why would you watch that?” former kickboxer Remy Bonjasky said on a recent podcast for the ADVERTISEMENT.

sour man

It led to an outraged reaction from Verhoeven, who called Bonjasky a “sour man” who “brings everything down”. “It’s going to be a real competition. Hesdy is a fighter who never gives up, I have to train hard to be ready,” assured Verhoeven.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to describe the Amsterdammer as an equal opponent for Verhoeven. The 38-year-old has won just three of his last ten games. Three previous fights against Verhoeven were all lost. In short, little reason for a fourth meeting.

Verhoeven has not played since October last year when, despite a bloody wound under his eye, he successfully defended his world title against Jamal Ben Saddik in the sold-out Gelredome. Verhoeven took months to recover from this injury.

He then focused mostly on filming an action movie. He returns to the ring on Hit It.

Mr Dancing on Ice

And don’t touch “his baby”, because then Verhoeven bites off violently. Not only Bonjasky noticed that, but recently also Alistair Overeem. Ahead of his win over Badr Hari earlier this month, Overeem questioned Verhoeven’s entertainment venue, which he scornfully dubbed “Mister Dancing on Ice”. Other kickboxers like to joke about Verhoeven’s countless media appearances, who often make headlines with his activities outside the kickboxing ring.

Overeem even openly wondered why Glory didn’t take the championship belt off Verhoeven. According to the regulations, the champion must defend his title at least once a year. In the event of inactivity, the title becomes vacant. Overeem called it a mistake on Glory’s part that Verhoeven is not fighting for the Union this year but is allowed to play at his own event.

Scott Rudman, Glory’s American vice-chairman, calmly explained that the Kickboxing Association made a one-time exception for Verhoeven. “Rico has been a champion for ten years and was unable to fight for a while due to injuries and acting. Because he’s done so much for the sport, we think it’s reasonable that he doesn’t defend his title this year, and Verhoeven will be back in the first quarter of 2023,” said Rudman.

As calm as Rudman reacted, Verhoeven was angry, according to Overeem. The two faced each other nose to nose in the kickboxing ring shortly after Overeem defeated Hari.

“During my contract negotiations with Glory I agreed that I could organize my own event. Overeem has nothing to do with it and doesn’t have to say anything about it,” said Verhoeven, who admitted to being “obviously irritated”.

Talk to Verhoeven about Hit It and his eyes will light up. He talks passionately about his self-invented concept. “It will be the first event in the Netherlands where sport and entertainment are combined,” he says.

“It will be an evening for young and old. You will see dance and music performances and there will be interaction with the audience through the prizes that we are giving away,” says the kickboxer enthusiastically. Verhoeven occupied himself with the preparation of the evening down to the smallest detail.

“But of course we will also organize serious fights,” he assures.

halftime show

Verhoeven found his inspiration abroad. “In America, there’s the halftime show at the Super Bowl and there’s also a lot of entertainment in the stadium, like during a basketball game in the NBA. You see the same thing in sports competitions in Japan, for example, but it’s completely new in the Netherlands.”

“People who come to Ahoy go from one highlight to the next. I hope that when the viewers go home they’ll be like, ‘Wow, that was so cool’.”

The end of the evening is the fight between Verhoeven and Gerges. Because Glory did not allow Verhoeven to fight another union fighter, the laundry was thin on possible opponents. “I’m glad that we were able to win Hesdy,” says Verhoeven. “He always puts fireworks in the ring and that’s what people want to see.”