February card looks spectacular

[WelshDevilRob]

There will be a Riyadh card in February 2025. This is the rumoured line-up. Thoughts?

 

[Ledhed1]

Great fights. A few essentially eliminators in the world picture. Dubois-Parker and Zhang-Kabayel perhaps semifinals for top contender status. Bakole appears to be an avoided man right now. Adames-Sheeraz winner steps into the Lara/Janibek category; can we finally bring clarity to this criminally neglected division. Very high on Sheeraz; he's a beast. Ennis-Ortiz is nice at 154, which is becoming crowded again. It's easy to get blinded by the newbies; they gotta beat to guys who've been there - Fundora, Crawford - if they wanna be top dog. Shame Ennis blew through 147 without accomplishing very much. The two Chukhadzhian fights were a bit meh and he's not fought an opponent at Ortiz's level. Plus the power suffers at the higher weight. Red flags for Boots.

[Ledhed1]

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. falls apart, Ortiz Jr. targets new opponent for loaded 2025 card

By Darshan Desai, Uncrowned

The Jaron Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. matchup the boxing world has long clamored for has fallen apart.

"Boots" and Ortiz were once considered the future of the welterweight division, but when Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) moved up to super welterweight, a potential fight seemed further away as IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) was focusing his efforts on unifying at 147 pounds. Ennis vs. Ortiz Jr. then rematerialized as a target for Turki Alalshikh's monster Feb. 22 "Riyadh Season" show, however the bout has once again fallen apart over conflict surrounding the weight limit.

Ennis' side claims to have been originally offered the Ortiz fight at welterweight, which they accepted. However, when Ortiz's promoter, Golden Boy, flagged the 147-pound weight limit as an issue, Ennis' side was unwilling to immediately agree to move up to super welterweight.

Ennis' primary goal is to unify at welterweight, and although that goal has proven increasingly difficult, he remains concentrated on cementing himself as the best welterweight in the world. So with the brisk pace at which Riyadh Season bouts are negotiated, Ennis declined to commit to a 154-pound matchup on a tight deadline.

Welterweight was a non-starter for WBC interim super welterweight champion Ortiz, who was forced to move up to 154 pounds after being hospitalized during his weight cut for a 147-pound title matchup with Eimantas Stanionis in 2023. Ortiz's promoters are now seeking an alternative opponent for his slot on the Feb. 22 card.

Unified champion Sebastian Fundora was approached to defend his belts against Ortiz on the card, but the idea was immediately refused. Fundora seems headed toward a clash with the one-time welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.

Puerto Rican contender Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) claimed over the weekend on social media to have accepted a proposal to box Ortiz on the Feb. 22 event. Zayas was last in action in September when he won a shutout decision over Damian Sosa on the Sandy Ryan vs. Mikaela Mayer undercard.

Elsewhere on the Feb. 22 card, Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Schofield publicly confirmed they have signed contracts to fight each other, after WBC lightweight champion Stevenson was left without an opponent due to his mandatory challenger, William Zepeda, being unavailable for the date due to injury. Schofield's promoter, Golden Boy, initially rejected the bout but was convinced by Schofield and his father to proceed with the matchup and to give "Kid Austin" a huge opportunity and payday.

[Ledhed1]

Turki Alalshikh reveals official Feb. 22 fight card for boxing mega-event

By Darshan Desai, Uncrowned

Turki Alalshikh's "Riyadh Season" may have just put together the best boxing card ever.

Alalshikh on Monday formally announced a loaded seven-fight card for Feb. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sitting atop the bill is the heavily anticipated rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

The first fight between Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) was hailed by many as one of the best potential matchups in the sport, and it delivered in the ring with a sensational 12-round contest in October. However, many viewers were left disappointed with the result, which gave Beterbiev a controversial claim to being the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

The IBF immediately ordered Beterbiev to honor his mandatory obligation against little-known Michael Eifert, but a step-aside deal has been agreed on to allow Beterbiev and Bivol to rematch just four months after their epic first meeting with all of the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA belts on the line.

In the co-feature, Britain's Daniel Dubois makes the second defense of his IBF heavyweight title against New Zealand's former champion, Joseph Parker.

Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) shocked the boxing world when he dropped Anthony Joshua four times en route to a fifth-round knockout at Wembley Stadium in September to successfully defend his IBF world heavyweight title. The 27-year-old suffered a defeat to Oleksandr Usyk for the unified titles in August 2023, but rebounded with wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgović heading into the bout with Joshua.

Parker (35-3, 23 KOs), a former heavyweight champion, has also been on a fantastic run since his defeat to Joe Joyce in September 2022. The New Zealander pulled off an upset similar to Dubois vs. Joshua when he dominated Deontay Wilder in December, then followed it up by getting up off the floor twice to snatch Zhilei Zhang's WBO interim title by majority decision in March.

Also joining the card is Shakur Stevenson, who will put his WBC lightweight title up for grabs when he meets fast-rising prospect Floyd Schofield.

Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) was initially ticketed to battle his mandatory challenger William Zepeda on Feb. 22, but Zepeda picked up an injury when he edged Tevin Farmer by a split decision last month on another "Riyadh Season" card. Also in November, Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) rose off the floor in Round 11 to take a wide decision over Mexico's Rene Tellez Giron.

Many have argued the opportunity has come too soon for Schofield, however "Kid Austin" and his father are insistent they have the skills to battle Stevenson. The pair have previously shared the ring in sparring.

In the fourth world title fight on the card, Hamzah Sheeraz challenges for Carlos Adames' WBC middleweight strap.

Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) was upgraded to full WBC champion in May and has since made a single defense of his title with a one-sided unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha.

Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) competed three times in 2024, with two of those bouts ending early — Liam Williams failed to make it out of the opening round with him, and Tyler Denny lasted just one round longer. Austin Williams managed to push Sheeraz into the 11th round, but he eventually suffered a knockout loss as well.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. defends his WBC interim super welterweight belt against the former WBA champion Israil Madrimov.

Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) recovered from two knockdowns to win a close majority decision over Serhii Bohachuk in August. Just seven days earlier, Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) was on the wrong end of a tight loss to Terence Crawford in Los Angeles.

The organizers for the Feb. 22 event hoped it would be Jaron "Boots" Ennis in the opposite corner of Ortiz, however a dispute over the weight limit prevented that bout from being finalized.

Madrimov will also fight Bohachuk on the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 undercard on Dec. 21 before he clashes with Ortiz on Feb. 22, his promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed Monday on social media.

The vacant WBC interim heavyweight title is on the line as well when Agit Kabayel and Zhilei Zhang go head-to-head to open the event.

Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs), a former European champion, has picked up two major wins on "Riyadh Season" cards. In December 2023, Kabayel dropped Arslanbek Makhmudov three times as a heavy underdog en route to halting him in the fourth round. On the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undercard in May, Kabayel emerged victorious in a WBC eliminator, stopping Cuban contender Frank Sanchez in seven rounds.

Zhang (27-2, 22 KOs) was last seen in action in June when he knocked out Deontay Wilder in five rounds in the headliner of the "Riyadh Season" 5 vs. 5 event to give Queensberry a 10-0 sweep over Matchroom.

Rounding out the card, British light heavyweight contenders Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith are set to collide for Buatsi's WBO interim title.

Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) scored two knockdowns against Willy Hutchinson to win a split decision and capture the WBO interim light heavyweight championship on the Joshua vs. Dubois undercard.

Smith (30-2, 22 KOs), who previously held the WBA and Ring Magazine super middleweight world titles, was stopped in seven rounds by Beterbiev for the unified light heavyweight titles in January. The Liverpudlian rebounded with a low-key victory this past Saturday, and now looks for another shot at the world title on Feb. 22.

Alalshikh stated Monday on social media that the pay-per-view price for the card will be no more than £19.99 in the United Kingdom and no more than $25.99 in the U.S.

"We want the fans be happy and enjoy it," he wrote. "Let's get boxing great again."