Inside the Ropes: Undisputed rematch and hard-hitting heavyweights in the latest Riyadh rumble

(Featured image: Alamy Images)

Written by: Steven Wellings

Each week, Steve Wellings — a man with over 20 years' experience covering boxing for various publications and current online editor of Boxing News — will be drilling down on some of the boxing world's biggest topics via our new column, Inside the Ropes.

This past week, Turki Alalshikh, the powerbroker behind Riyadh Season’s boxing offerings, revealed yet another beastly bill. On February 22, the man commonly known as ‘His Excellency’ dropped a seven-fight card of epic proportions, spearheaded by a rematch for unquestionable supremacy in the 175-pound division. Let’s look at what he’s serving up for the fight fans on what some are referring to as the greatest card of all time.

A closer look at 'The Last Crescendo' 

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 - 12 rounds, undisputed light-heavyweight status

It’s likely to be a case of round 13 for these pair as they pick up where they left off in October. Hands down, the two best light-heavyweights in the world and pound-for-pound stars, Beterbiev and Bivol played Russian roulette in Riyadh before Beterbiev added his rival’s WBA strap to all of the other belts, reigning as the undisputed king. Bivol boxed beautifully. Beterbiev ground him down as the bout went on.

Who can make the most alterations for the return fixture?

Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker - 12 rounds, heavyweight

Dubois is enjoying a career purple patch, bouncing back from defeats to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk. The latter is undeniably the number one heavyweight on the planet. Dubois only picked up his IBF world title after Usyk was stripped due to sanctioning body politics. Turning his Interim title into a full version, ‘DDD’ detonated hard and heavy on Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight humdinger at the end of September.

New Zealand’s Parker will present a different kind of threat, as he is in excellent form himself. Currently boasting a three-fight streak of Saudi wins, Parker’s dismantling of Deontay Wilder was followed by a majority decision victory over Zhilei Zhang in which he was dropped twice. Both of these men are extremely resilient.

Dubois pummelled Joshua into submission in his first fight as IBF champ. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz - 12 rounds, middleweight

After beating up Tyler Denny, European champion Hamzah Sheeraz had a few options. Defend the belt against Denzel Bentley or pursue the path to the world level.

He chose the latter, spurning the chance to rumble with unified WBO and IBF champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly to take on WBC king Adames. According to whispered sparring stories, the Dominican is a rudimentary operator who is athletic and strong and punches extraordinarily hard. Sheeraz can bang a bit himself. This one should catch fire.

Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov - 12 rounds, super-welterweight

WBC Interim super-welterweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr was expecting a weight jump from Jaron Ennis, but ‘Boots’ decided to stick down at welterweight instead. Step forward Israil Madrimov who lost a close decision to Terence Crawford and must get past Serhii Bohachuk first to earn his Ortiz Jr shot. 

This is an unusual scenario as Bohachuk was responsible for knocking Ortiz Jr down twice and pushing him to the wire in Ortiz’s title-winning effort. Even if Madrimov gets the Ukrainian, will he be in any fit state to compete on the Feb 22 card?

Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith - 12 rounds, light-heavyweight

A solid clash between two British nearly men. Okay, so Callum Smith has already won a world title but lacks a signature win on his record and came up short against Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev. No shame there, but how much more does he have left in the tank?

Buatsi, meanwhile, has meandered around the top level for years, fighting domestic foes while turning down eliminators. This is an acid test for him, just months after outlasting Scotland’s Willy Hutchinson over 12 rounds.

Smith came up short against Beterbiev earlier this year but still boasts greater experience at the top level over Buatsi. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Shakur Stevenson vs Floyd Schofield - 12 rounds, lightweight

Shakur was supposed to defend his WBC lightweight title against Wales’ Joe Cordina last October but ended up having hand surgery. This time, he expected to defend against Mexican buzzsaw William Zepeda, who came out of a recent warm-up with Tevin Farmer full of unexpected battle scars.

In steps Golden Boy prospect Floyd Schofield who is unbeaten in 18 fights and carries a bit of a dig. Floyd was last seen outpointing Rene Tellez Giron, getting dropped in round 11 for his troubles. That is a bad omen if he is to do anything more than chase shadows and get lulled into a 12-round coma by the excellent, if unadventurous, Shakur, a former Olympian and three-weight pro world champion.

Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel - 12 rounds, heavyweight

Finally, rounding off the card nicely is a good old-fashioned heavyweight battle as a couple of quality contenders seek to snatch a shot at the big time. China’s Zhang has faster hands than his size would suggest. He can bang a bit, too (just ask Joe Joyce, who he knocked out twice). 

Zhang has had stamina issues in the past and here he faces a man who can box, move and tags the body repeatedly - offbeat for a heavyweight, but it works. German dark horse Kabayel might have the upper hand if he can avoid the sharp shots on the inside, particularly Zhang’s laser right hook.

Betting rundown...

This Saturday evening, Emanuel Navarrete is 4/9 to defend his WBO super-featherweight title in Arizona successfully. His fight with Oscar Valdez is a rematch. The first meeting was fun and competitive, but Navarrete won wide on both cards. Valdez says he’s made changes and adjustments but remains 11/4 to turn over his fellow Mexican. 

Valdez is 66/1 to win by KO in rounds 10, 11 or 12, which might sound fanciful. However, Valdez holds a quality 10th-round knockout win over Miguel Berchelt and Navarrete has looked a little ragged late on in fights since moving up in weight.

All odds are correct on Oddschecker as of 04/12/24.

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