Promoter Eddie Hearn and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh have revealed that they have a card planned for February 22 for the Riyadh Season event. Matchroom promoter Hearn hasn’t said who the headliner will be, but says it’s the “Best card yet.”
To be the “best”, it must involve one of Hearn’s best. Shakur Stevenson He is supposed to fight in February, so he would be the obvious fighter to get the pick. Shakur is supposed to return from hand surgery to defend against William Zepeda in February.
It will be a fun fight to see how Shakur handles this human buzzsaw. Stevenson is not a big star, so it is not suitable for him to be part of the card that Hearn is talking about. Must be one of Hearn’s big guns.
It’s safe to say that Matchroom’s flagship fighter Anthony Joshua will not be fighting as he will need more time to recover from his recent knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. February is too early for Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch to be rescheduled.
Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, lost, and he will need to rebuild before returning to conqueror, Beterbiev.
Turki Alalshikh: “Eddie, are you ready for the paper in February?”
Eddie Hearn: “February 22, I think is the best card for the Riyadh season.”
Turki: “I hope so.”
Hearn: “Let’s go.”
The way Turki said, “I hope,” had an ominous sound. I can read something into it, but I got the impression that he wants Hearn to produce a quality card, especially in relation to the main event.
We saw how badly it ended for Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, on Saturday night. Then, when Bivol lost, Hearn did not show good sportsmanship, which affected the outcome of the fight. Hearn looked like he was about to blow a gasket after the fight. He was a textbook example of a sore loser.
– TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) October 19, 2024
