Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are set to stage a rematch in Saudi Arabia in February as the main event on a blockbuster bill that will also see Daniel Dubois defend his world heavyweight title.
Rumours over grand plans to stage another huge boxing card on February 22 in Riyadh have now been formalised in an announcement made by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.
A Riyadh Season show named ‘The Last Crescendo’ is another collaborative promotional effort headlined by a rematch between Russian light-heavyweight rivals Beterbiev and Bivol, whose delayed first fight in Saudi in October saw the former edge a majority decision victory to become the undisputed champion at 175lbs.
However, there has been much debate about that result since, with promoter Eddie Hearn describing it as “sickening” and Bivol’s team later lodging an official protest.
One of the greatest cards ever on February 22 in Riyadh 🥊🔥#BigTime#RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/4jQEowMXvD
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) December 2, 2024
The duo will now lock horns again in the New Year as Bivol attempts to avenge the first loss of his professional career that saw him relinquish both the WBA and IBO belts.
Beterbiev vs Bivol II is far from the only high-profile bout on the February 22 card, with Dubois also lined up to defend his IBF heavyweight title in a potentially tough battle with a resurgent Joseph Parker.
It will be Dubois’ first fight since he devastated Anthony Joshua with a dominant fifth-round knockout at Wembley Stadium in September, retaining full champion status having been upgraded in the aftermath of winning the interim title against Filip Hrgovic at the inaugural Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 event in June.
American superstar Shakur Stevenson will also put his WBC lightweight title on the line for the second time against compatriot Floyd Schofield, having been forced to pull out of his meeting with Wales’ Joe Cordina on the original Beterbiev-Bivol undercard following hand surgery.
A huge opportunity awaits for undefeated British middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz, who gets his maiden shot at a world title against Dominican WBC champion Carlos Adames.
Vergil Ortiz Jr also defends the interim WBC super-welterweight belt against Israil Madrimov, who is already fighting in Riyadh on December 21 against Serhii Bohachuk on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury II at Kingdom Arena.
There’s an all-British contest between Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith, in which the former will defend his interim WBO light-heavyweight title after beating Willy Hutchinson on the Joshua-Dubois undercard in September.
Smith, meanwhile, lost comprehensively to the hard-hitting Beterbiev in January and made his comeback last week with a fifth-round stoppage of Colombian Carlos Galvan on the undercard of Galal Yafai’s win over Sunny Edwards in Birmingham.
Also on February’s bill is Chinese heavyweight contender Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang, who returns for the first time since his win over Deontay Wilder in the summer as he meets Germany’s Agit Kabayel for the vacant WBC interim championship. The winner is likely to be among the top contenders to go on and face the victor of the Usyk vs Fury rematch.
