RICO VERHOEVEN is planning to appeal his controversial stoppage loss to Oleksandr Usyk.

Verhoeven crossed over from the world of kickboxing to challenge boxing’s undefeated pound-for-pound king Usyk in Egypt.

Despite not tasting defeat in the kickboxing ranks for over ten years – with just ONE professional boxing bout to his name – the Dutchman was given little chance of surviving the first few rounds – let alone the fight.

But it was Usyk who needed a great escape having been beaten and bamboozled for the majority of the ten completed rounds.

In the 11th, Usyk, 39, finally caught up to Verhoeven, 37, with a left hand that dropped the unheralded challenger in the corner.

Verhoeven made it to his feet and even received some valuable seconds to recover after his gumshield fell out.

But when the action resumed, Usyk smelt blood and piled the pressure on with a barrage of shots.

Verhoeven tucked up but failed to fire back – causing British official Mark Lyson to controversially jump in and end the action.

It was a remarkable decision to make considering it came at 2.59 seconds of the penultimate round with Verhoeven unsteady on his legs but by no means incoherent.

And the outrage grew after replays appeared to show the bell sounding to end the round BEFORE Lyson jumped in – with action now due to be taken.

Devastated Verhoeven told Boxing News: “They stopped the fight after the bell.

“I think we’re just going to go ahead and file an appeal because this makes no sense.

“When the referee intervened, I wasn’t dazed or anything like that. I looked at him thinking: Why are you stopping it?

“We were so close to making it to the end. It’s totally absurd. The referee must be aware of what he’s doing.

“Of course, mistakes happen, but he needs to admit his error. They should review the footage and declare the fight a no contest or go to the judges’ scorecards.

“And if they went to the cards, at that point I was ahead on points.”

Controversy surrounded the fight – which took place behind a stunning backdrop of the Egyptian Pyramids – way before round 11.

Usyk snubbed patient challengers like Agit Kabayel, 33, and Moses Itauma, 21, to take the crossover clash.

And the WBC came under fire for officially sanctioning the bout for the world title – while the WBA and IBF chose not to.

But for all the cynics, it was an inspired performance by Verhoeven who set the tone from the very first round with a thudding right hand on Usyk.

The heavily favoured champ – who has reigned as undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight – struggled to get to grips with Verhoeven’s awkward style.

He did buckle Verhoeven with a big left uppercut in round four – which should have swung the momentum his way. But the challenger defied all logic as he outboxed all-time great Usyk with an unorthodox mix of aggression and speed.

By the seventh, it was Usyk – a veteran of the 12-round distance – who looked to be tiring and he was almost out on his feet after a massive left hook.

A sense of disbelief filled the purpose-filled arena in the Giza desert when Verhoeven almost took Usyk’s chin off with a monster right.

Heading into the championship rounds and Usyk was on the verge of the biggest shock in boxing since Mike Tyson’s infamous 1990 loss to 42-1 outsider James ‘Buster’ Douglas in Tokyo.

But he turned the tide in the 11th after dropping Verhoeven with a big left hand to floor his otherwise faultless rival.

Verhoeven looked shaken but coherent when the action resumed – able to tuck up and defend from the oncoming onslaught.

Usyk did his part by not letting up but Lyson will come under questioning for his decision to call the action while seemingly missing the bell.

Kabayel did get in the ring afterwards to face-off with Usyk.

But Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh – paying to stage the extravagant event behind the iconic Egyptian – called for a rematch with Verhoeven in the Netherlands.

Scorecards at the time of the bout had Verhoeven two points up with one judge and level with the other two.

It was Usyk who pulled himself out of the fire – but ref Lyson will take the heat for his crazy call.