Usyk vs Verhoeven: Who is the Dutchman looking to cause biggest shock in boxing history against Oleksandr Usyk?

Verhoeven is one of his country’s top names and recently wrapped filming Road House 2 with Jake Gyllenhaal. His inner circle includes Kevin Hart and Max Verstappen, and even the King of the Netherlands is a fan.

Verhoeven’s story began during a turbulent childhood in Bergen op Zoom, near the Belgian border, far from the Formula 1 pastures and film sets. He was initially raised by his mother, who struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, and moved in with his father when he was six.

“My father came from Kyokushin karate,” says Verhoeven. “He got injured, he started boxing, he started kickboxing, and people started asking him to teach.”

His father coached with intense and relentless discipline.

“At the time you were like, ‘Why can’t I do this? All my friends are going to the swimming pool tonight. I have to go train.’ It didn’t make sense to me at the time, but I’m so thankful now because those were the foundations of the discipline I have today.”

Despite experiencing periods of painful distance, Verhoeven reconciled with his father before his death.

He also reconnected with his mother, who passed away at training camp earlier this year. Processing this pain gave her a sharp perspective on her own role as a parent.

“Especially now that I have children of my own, [about] how do you balance that,” says Verhoeven.

“What will you plan for the ones that work for you? And what will you plan for the ones that don’t work for you?”