The Riyadh Season card is now officially announced for February 22, with a couple of surprises. In the headliner, undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev will defend against Dmitry Bivol in a rematch, which most fans felt deserved to be at the top of the bill.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israel Madrimov
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh surprised fans by planning WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. to face former WBA champion Israil Madrimov.
We had heard that Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) could face Xander Zayas next, but that’s a long shot. Madrimov is a great puncher with exceptional technical skills, and he came close to defeating Terence Crawford last summer on August 3rd.
Interestingly, Madrimov had been rumored to fight former interim WBC 154-lb champion Serhii Bohahuk on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 on December 21st.
It is unclear whether Madrimov will remain on that card. If that’s the case, he’ll have to come through injury-free to return to the ring in February to face Vergil Jr. Madrimov, who is STILL scheduled to fight Bohachuk on December 21st. So, he’s going to take an old-school approach by fighting twice in two months.
Putting IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker as the main supporter is a very questionable move because US fans have little interest in seeing this fight. Parker is seen as a past-the-prime man with a boring style. It is not popular in the United States.
Fans are most interested in the defense of WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson against Floyd Schofield. That match-up will create much more interest during the build-up than the charisma-less Dubois-Parker fight.
The other interesting addition to this card is Callum Smith challenging Joshua Buatsi for his interim WBO light heavyweight title. Smith batted Saturday night and is making a quick turnaround.
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol II
Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz
Vergil Ortiz vs Israil Madrimov
Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabaiel
Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith
