Oleksandr Usyk may have taken a massive hit ahead of his fight against Rico Verhoeven. Or at least that’s how fans see it. The pair, of course, are set to collide at the Pyramids of Giza on top of a card billed ‘Glory in Giza.’ And before the main event began, Usyk’s training partner and friend Daniel Lapin suffered his first career loss. 

Lapin, who is the younger brother of Usyk’s manager, Serge Lapin, took on France’s Benjamin Mendes Tani in a 10-round light heavyweight bout to open up the main card in the event. Lapin started well, using his significant height and reach advantage to control the distance early. He looked composed and was winning the early exchanges with cleaner shots and better footwork.

However, Tani grew into the fight quickly. He applied constant forward pressure, worked the body relentlessly, and closed the distance effectively. This aggressive front-foot approach started to wear on Lapin and neutralized his height advantage. Ultimately, Tani was dropped three times before referee Danrex Tapdasan stopped the bout.

While the French boxer improved to 10-1, Usyk’s training partner suffered his first career loss, bringing his record to 13-1. Lapin was coming off a first-round knockout win over Kristaps Bulmeistars in March. Whereas Tani fought back in November, where he secured a unanimous decision win over Sadok Sebki.

This loss prompted boxing presenter Dev Sahani to point out that this loss could have been a massive blow to Usyk’s morale ahead of the fight. 

“Oleksandr Usyk’s training partner and friend Daniel Lapin, the younger brother of Usyk’s manager Serge Lapin, has just suffered the first loss of his career,” Sahani wrote on X. “A bit of a blow to Team Usyk hours away from the Rico Verhoeven fight.”

And fans quickly started resonating with that sentiment in the comment section of the post. 

Fans didn’t think much of Lapin even before the loss

After the fight, comments quickly started pouring in. One user claimed Lapin sounded good on paper because of his connection with Usyk. But didn’t amount to much in the ring. “One of those fighters who only looked good on paper. Looks awful when you actually see them fight,” the user wrote. Just because someone trains with Oleksandr Usyk doesn’t mean they can replicate ‘The Cat’s skills. 

Another fan pointed out that having a friend on the same card can be a blow to morale. “Fighters having close friends/relatives on their shows comes with a major risk to mood and morale in the dressing room,” the fan commented. Whether this loss will affect Usyk’s fight against Verhoeven remains to be seen. 

Someone else claimed Lapin wasn’t that great a fighter to begin with. “He’s not much of a fighter. Weak guts,” the user posted. Still, Lapin is just 28. He could bounce back and improve his skills. 

Meanwhile, the outcome of the fight appears to have shocked this fan. “Wasn’t expecting that.. 🤯,” the user wrote. Lapin’s massive size advantage also made it seem like he would have an easy fight. 

The next user claimed they saw the loss coming from a mile away. “I was expecting it, [I have] been saying it the past 2/3 times we have seen him. I think he is overrated and there for the taking,” the user wrote. In comparison to Usyk, Lapin doesn’t even have the sort of amateur pedigree to fill people with confidence. 

There’s little doubt among boxing fans that Oleksandr Usyk will make quick work of Rico Verhoeven. After all, the Dutch fighter has had only one boxing match, that too, years ago. But do you think his teammates’ loss will affect his fight?