Rico Verhoeven has been the undefeated kickboxing world champion for eleven years. With an important tournament looming, Rico Verhoeven is busy training. He doesn’t do that alone: he has been training with Dennis since he was a teenager. The two have a strong bond.
An emotional Rico Verhoeven
Art Rooijakkers, who started a brand new season yesterday Rooijakkers Over De Vloer, is curious about the special bond that the two share. With tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat, Rico talks in the broadcast about one of the most important men in his life. ‘Dennis only has to look at me to know how I feel. Sometimes I try to push things away, but he gets it out.’ The world champion can no longer suppress his tears. ‘Dennis is just so important to me. I no longer have my own father and Dennis fills that gap for me.’ In 2017, Jos Verhoeven died of Alzheimer’s disease. The father and son had a love-hate relationship, as Rico himself would describe it. ‘But some things in life make you think: I wish I had my father. And then I’m happy that Dennis is there.’
