On Saturday, WBC heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will defend his title against renown kickboxer Rico Verhoeven. The two champions of their sport will do battle in a location that has never hosted championship boxing, the Pyramids in Egypt. It seems almost surreal to write, but it’s 2026 and almost nothing is impossible — especially in boxing.
As you might expect, the start time won’t be what most American fight fans have become accustomed to when fights are in Las Vegas or New York. Here’s the information you need to watch this unique but still controversial championship boxing event.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Event: Glory in Giza — Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven
- Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026
- Venue: Giza Necropolis, at the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
- Main card start: 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. BST / 8 p.m. Egypt
- Ring walks (approx.): 5:48 p.m. ET / 2:48 p.m. PT / 10:48 p.m. BST
- How to watch: DAZN pay-per-view ($59.99 in the U.S.)
What Time Does The Usyk Vs. Verhoeven Main Card Start?
The Glory in Giza main card begins at 1 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. CT / 10 a.m. PT in the United States, which lands at 6 p.m. BST in the U.K. and 8 p.m. local time in Egypt. DAZN’s full pay-per-view broadcast opens even earlier, around 10 to 11 a.m. ET, to carry the undercard.
That gives American viewers a rare daytime heavyweight title fight, while fans in Egypt and the U.K. get a prime-time slot. The event streams worldwide on DAZN, with the U.S. pay-per-view priced at $59.99.
The undercard is solid.
This was booked similarly to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. While there are legitimate questions about the competitiveness of the main event, the supporting fights are legit.
We’ll see Hamzah Sheeraz, Jack Catterall and Richard Torrez Jr. all in action before the main event, so the schedule has real depth leading into the walk.
When Are The Usyk Vs. Verhoeven Ring Walks?
Multiple outlets are projecting Usyk and Verhoeven to make their ring walks at approximately 5:48 p.m. ET, which works out to 4:48 p.m. CT, 2:48 p.m. PT and 10:48 p.m. BST.
In Egypt, that translates to roughly 12:48 a.m. on Sunday, meaning local fans will be staying up near midnight to see the walk with the Pyramids lit behind the ring.
Every outlet caveats that this is approximate, since a quick or drawn-out undercard can shift the window by 10 to 20 minutes either way. In any case, it’ll be pretty late when the main event begins in Egypt.
For planning purposes, the safest move is to be locked in by 5 p.m. ET so an early finish on the card preceding the main event does not catch you off guard.
What Should You Know Before The Main Event?
Usyk enters at 24-0 with 15 knockouts, making his first appearance since stopping Daniel Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley last July to reclaim undisputed status. Only his WBC belt is officially on the line in this voluntary defense.
Verhoeven, the longtime GLORY kickboxing king, holds just a 1-0 professional boxing record, which is the source of the “spectacle versus sport” debate around the bout. The matchup is the latest in a 2026 run of crossover events blurring the line between legitimate competition and theater, though the Pyramids backdrop guarantees it will look like nothing else.
For me, the timing is the real gift here. A heavyweight world title fight you can watch over a late lunch on the U.S. East Coast, from one of the most iconic settings on Earth, is worth the price even if the result feels preordained.
