.@Turki_alalshikh tells me: “It was a bad stoppage, Rico deserved to continue to fight. It’s clear that Usyk was controlling in the end, but the referee should have allowed the fight to reach clear result. It is the call of Usyk now what he does next. Kabayel has waited a long… pic.twitter.com/XD2c78d4Xv

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) May 24, 2026

The biggest takeaway from Turki’s comments was the direction he laid out for Usyk’s immediate future. Kabayel, the WBC interim heavyweight champion, has waited for a title shot while Usyk pursued fights against Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois and Rico Verhoeven.

Turki also made it clear that Rico’s performance changed how he is viewed going forward. Before Saturday night, many fans saw Verhoeven as a crossover opponent with little chance of seriously threatening Usyk. That changed once the fight started.

Rico’s size, movement and pressure created problems for Usyk throughout the fight before the controversial ending in the 11th. Turki openly discussing a rematch and saying he wants “two more fights” with Verhoeven shows how much value Rico gained from the performance despite losing officially.

A Usyk-Kabayel fight in Germany would also fit Turki’s recent comments about planning a major event in Turkey involving Usyk. Kabayel, who has Turkish roots, has steadily built his standing in the heavyweight division with wins over Frank Sanchez, Arslanbek Makhmudov and Zhilei Zhang.