Rico Verhoeven claims he has accepted offer to fight Deontay Wilder

Rico Verhoeven has revealed that he accepted an offer to fight former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Speaking to TalkSport, the Dutch fighter confirmed his agreement to the bout, although he noted that his participation on the fight card is not fully confirmed yet. Verhoeven entered the heavyweight boxing spotlight in May after an 11th-round stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk in Egypt.

The development creates uncertainty around Wilder's next move after Zuffa Boxing's Dana White recently announced that Jai Opetaia had agreed to face Wilder in Cardiff on December 11. Chris Billam-Smith also expressed interest as a backup, while Verhoeven had previously been linked to new IBF champion Filip Hrgovic, who is currently tied to a mandatory bout against Frank Sanchez.