• Champion will face Rico Verhoeven for WBC belt in May

• ‘I respect people who reach the very top in their sport’

Oleksandr Usyk, who has not fought since a fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois at Wembley in July, will defend his WBC heavyweight title against a kickboxer at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

The bout with Rico Verhoeven, dubbed “Glory in Giza”, will be the first title fight held in Egypt, according to The Ring magazine, on 23 May and will be streamed live on Dazn.