How a kickboxing legend & Statham's pal landed a shot at Usyk

Verhoeven is an A-list fixture in his home country, and recently wrapped filming on Road House 2 alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. His inner circle includes Kevin Hart and Max Verstappen, and even the King of the Netherlands is a fan.

Away from Formula One paddocks and movie sets, Verhoeven's story began amid a turbulent childhood in Bergen op Zoom, near the Belgian border. Raised initially by his mother, who struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, he moved in with his father aged six.

"My dad came from Kyokushin karate," Verhoeven says. "He got injured, started boxing, started kickboxing and people started asking him to teach."

His father coached with intense, unrelenting discipline.

"Back then you're like, 'why can't I do this? All my friends are going to the swimming pool tonight. I got to go and train'. Back then it didn't make too much sense to me, but now I'm super thankful because those were the fundamentals of the discipline I have today."

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

He also rebuilt his bond with his mother, who passed away earlier this year during his training camp. Processing that grief has provided a sharp perspective on his own role as a parent.

"Now especially having my own kids, it is [about] how are you going balance that," Verhoeven says.

"What are you going to project on them that worked for you? And what are you going project on them that didn't work for you?"