Hollywood superstar Jason Statham kickstarted negotiations for Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven, according to esteemed journalist Ariel Helwani.Last week, it was announced that unified heavyweight titleholder Usyk will face kickboxing legend Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on May 23.Usyk will defend his WBC belt against Verhoeven in Egypt on May 23GettyVerhoeven gets a title shot in just his second ever professional boxing contest, having fought just once in 2014AFPUsyk, who holds the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titles, hasn’t fought since brutally knocking out Daniel Dubois in a four-belt shootout at Wembley Stadium last July.The 39-year-old from Ukraine was set to meet Fabio Wardley in an undisputed bout after the latter stopped Joseph Parker, but opted to vacate his WBO belt, with Wardley now fighting Dubois on May 8.After talks of a Deontay Wilder clash collapsed, Usyk is now set to meet Dutch kickboxer Verhoeven and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman granted permission for his belt to be defended in the bout.Not many could’ve predicted that Usyk would end up meeting Verhoeven, but Helwani has revealed how negotiations played out.Jason Statham’s links to the combat world“This some way, somehow got to Jason Statham,” Helwani explained.“Jason Statham is a very good friend of Rico Verhoeven. Jason Statham is also a very good friend of Turki Alalshikh (Saudi boxing chief and co-founder of Zuffa Boxing). “Jason Statham pitched Turki Alalshikh, Rico Verhoeven. Turki Alalshikh was not familiar with Rico Verhoeven.“And [Statham] said, ‘This is the guy, this is my boy.’ I think they were in a movie together.”Statham, best known for his role in the Fast and Furious franchise, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, to name a few, is a die-hard kickboxing fan.The 58-year-old has been spotted at many events over the years, developing a close relationship with the sport’s biggest star Verhoeven, along the way.Statham reportedly put forward his good friend Verhoeven’s name to AlalshikhGettyVerhoeven is one of the biggest sporting stars from the NetherlandsGettyHow Verhoeven landed a title fight with UsykVerhoeven has been previously linked to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, but Helwani reports the timing just wasn’t right for the latter to finalise a deal.The Dutchman, who has a record of 49-8, was then made an offer by the UFC upon the expiry of his contract with kickboxing promotion Glory.The UFC reportedly offered Verhoeven Derrick Lewis at UFC 324, with good money at stake, too.However, Verhoeven had a better option in Anthony Joshua, who planned to fight the kickboxer after facing Jake Paul in December.Joshua’s tragic car accident derailed those plans, but Alalshikh was keen on getting Verhoeven a fight and this is when Usyk entered conversations.“They still have this deal and still wanted to make it right,” Helwani added.