The Riyadh season card is now officially announced for February 22, with a few surprises. In the main event, undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev will defend against Dmitri Bivol in a rematch, which most fans deserved to top the match.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israel Madrimov
His Honor Turki Alalshikh surprised fans by scheduling WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. to face former WBA champion Israil Madrimov.
We heard Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) could face Xander Zayas next, but that’s a tall order. Madrimov is a big puncher with excellent technical skills, and they defeated Terence Crawford last summer on August 3rd.
February 22 Riyadh Season Card
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2: Main Event
Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz
Vergil Ortiz vs Israil Madrimov
Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel
Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith
Interestingly, Madrimov has been talked about fighting former WBC interim 154-lb champion Serhii Bohahuk on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 on December 21.
Madrimov is still scheduled to fight Bohachuk on December 21st, so he will have a old school approach by fighting twice in two months. Turki’s big addition is using Madrimov as Vergil Ortiz Jr’s opponent rather than Xander Zayas, who said he was offered the fight.
Posting IBF Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois Vs. Joseph Parker as the main support is highly questionable because American fans have little interest in seeing this fight. Parker is considered a guy with a boring style, and he is not popular in the United States.
Fans are more interested in WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson’s defense against Floyd Schofield. That matchup will generate more interest in the build-up than the Dubois-Parker fight without charisma. Shakur-Schofield should be the main support match on this card because the attention this fight will attract will drown out any interest in the Dubois-Parker match.
The #3 spot on the card has to go to Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov be. This is a much better fight than the Dubois vs. Parker match. American fans will prefer this one over the heavyweight match.
The other interesting addition to this card is Callum Smith challenging Joshua Buatsi for his WBO interim light heavyweight title. Smith fought last Saturday night and is making a quick turnaround.
