Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol clash again as the eyes of the boxing and wider sporting world once again fall upon Riyadh for a blockbuster night of action.
Four months on from their memorable undisputed showdown in Saudi Arabia, the two light-heavyweight legends are back at the Kingdom Arena this evening for a high-profile rematch with all the belts in the 175-pound division on the line for the second time.
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Beterbiev now holds the full set after his contentious majority decision win on the cards back in October, but will have to be at his very best again to retain those titles, his undefeated record and status as the first undisputed king of his weight class since the great Roy Jones Jr in 2002.
Bivol has revenge firmly on the mind on Saturday night after his camp lodged an official appeal against the scoring of the first fight that promoter Eddie Hearn lamented as a robbery, but he will have to muster every ounce of his supreme technical and tactical nous to find a way past one of the sport’s most devastating punchers at the second attempt.
Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 is the headline act in Riyadh but there are plenty of other bouts holding massive intrigue on a lengthy card titled ‘The Last Crescendo’ which has been subject to plenty of late unforeseen change this week having previously been dubbed by many as arguably the most impressive bill in boxing history.
Daniel Dubois had been set to defend his IBF heavyweight title for the first time since dominating Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September, only to pull out of his scheduled bout with the resurgent Joseph Parker on Thursday evening due to illness after being evaluated by doctors.
He has since been replaced by Scotland-based heavyweight Martin Bakole, who has had a whirlwind 48 hours going from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Saudi after promoter Ben Shalom quickly sealed a remarkable late deal while Thursday’s final pre-fight press conferences were taking place.
The fight will be for Parker’s WBO interim champion status, with the winner set to be named as the WBO’s mandatory challenger for full title-holder Oleksandr Usyk.
The withdrawal of Dubois came after Floyd Schofield had already been pulled out of his contest against fellow American Shakur Stevenson having been hospitalised earlier this week after falling ill, with unbeaten Yorkshireman Josh Padley getting the late call to challenge for the WBC lightweight belt instead.
Elsewhere on Saturday’s stacked bill, Hamzah Sheeraz will attempt to become a world champion for the first time as he battles WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames.
WBC interim super-welterweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr meets Israil Madrimov in another high-profile showdown, while Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel compete for the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title.
The main undercard kicks off with a fascinating all-British tussle between WBO interim light-heavyweight champion Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith, while Saudi fighters Ziyad Almaayouf and Mohammed Alakel will get the early action underway.
Bradley Rea’s proposed fight against Constantino Nanga was called off due to an injury to Nanga, while Craig Richards vs Troy Jones is not believed to be taking place on Saturday night despite some confusion on social media, with Richards scheduled to take on Padraig McCrory in Belfast next week.
Here is the running order as it stands and estimated fight times for Saturday night’s massive card, as reported by the relevant broadcasters. These are of course subject to change, depending on what happens on the night.
Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 fight times and running order
All times GMT
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 (11pm) - for Beterbiev’s WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring light-heavyweight titles
Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole (9:40pm) - for Parker’s WBO interim heavyweight title
Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley (8:35pm) - for Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title
Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz (7:35pm) - for Adames’ WBC middleweight title
Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov (6:40pm) - for Ortiz Jr’s WBC interim super-welterweight title
Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel (5:40pm) - for the vacant WBC interim heavyweight title
Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith (4:45pm) - for Buatsi’s WBO interim light-heavyweight title
Ziyad Almaayouf vs Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (TBC)
Mohammed Alakel vs Engel Gomez (TBC)
