Promoter Eddie Hearn has said Rico Verhoeven beating Oleksandr Usyk is all but impossible but has not ruled out "one of the greatest upsets in the history of boxing."
Verhoeven, a kickboxing great from the Netherlands who has had one professional boxing bout, will face Usyk, the two-weight undisputed and unified heavyweight champion, at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on Saturday.
While Hearn admitted the Dutchman faces huge odds, he conceded an upset isn't out of the question.
- Usyk vs. Rico: What's the belt controversy?
- Usyk at the Pyramids: Boxing's crazy venues include Playboy Mansion, Titanic shipyard
"The fight on paper is an impossible mountain to climb for Rico Verhoeven. No ... I'll re-phrase that. For the normal man. But the reason he's done what he's done is because he's not a normal man," Hearn said.
"Oleksandr Usyk is one of the greatest not just fighters of this generation, but greatest examples to any young fighter, athlete, in terms of the work ethic and mindset.
"I thank [Usyk] and his team for allowing [Anthony Joshua] into that camp. What I've seen up close is the reason he's undefeated, on top of the game.
"Tomorrow night, this man [Verhoeven], whose arms are like the normal man's thighs, has an opportunity to, let's be honest, forge one of the greatest upsets in the history of boxing.
"It might not be to him ... But it will be on paper if he was to do it.
"I'll tell you something. If there was ever anything dramatic, ever anything strange to happen, it's going to happen at the foot of the Pyramids in Egypt."
The two fighters met at the final news conference in Cairo on Thursday and Verhoeven insisted he will present Usyk with a unique challenge.
"I'm bringing something that he hasn't seen before because he's only faced boxers. And they've been boxing their whole life. I haven't," Verhoeven said.
"So it's just a whole different approach. It's God's will. We'll see on Saturday. May the best man win.
"The first objective is to win. How we're going to win? We'll see. It it's a knockout, it's a knockout. If it's a decision, it's a decision. If it comes to a decision and I win? Wow."