The February 22 card in Riyadh is considered a candidate for the best boxing event in the sport’s history. Some excellent cards in the distant past can compete with the proposed February 22nd card for quality fights.
Proposed February 22 Riyadh map
– Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
– Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
– Jaron Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz
– Hamzah Sheeraz vs Carlos Adames
– Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel
Historical comparisons
September 28, 1979, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
– Larry Holmes vs. Earnie Shavers
– Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Andy Price
– Roberto Duran vs. Zeferino Gonzalez
– Wilfredo Gomez vs. Carlos Mendoza
8 May 1993, The Mirage, Las Vegas
– Gerald McClellan vs. Julian Jackson
– Lennox Lewis vs Tony Tucker
– Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Terrence Ali
Both of these cards from the 70s and 90s can more than rival the February 22nd card in terms of competitive matches. The February event could surpass those cards with some minor tweaks with the matchup.
The Feb. 22 Riyadh card features two standout fights: undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitri Bivol and Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron Ennis. These two stand out. However, these fights are still not official, and none of the six fights on the card are a foregone conclusion.
The rest of the card involves good fights with predictable outcomes. These are not 50-50 games. For example, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson will defend against Floyd Schofield.
The Zhakur-Schofield battle is a mismatch, as Schofield is still a 22-year-old starter who has yet to cut his teeth against a top-level opponent during his four-year career. He has fought as long as Jake Paul as a pro and has a similarly padded resume.
“If that card is true, it’s the biggest fight card I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t remember all the fight cards I’ve seen,” Ade Oladipo said of his YouTube channel, talking about the February 22 card in Riyadh.
It’s unclear how long Oladipo has been following boxing, as he sounds like a casual fan, not someone who has watched the sport since he was a kid.
“A lot of people talk about the Don King fight cards in the 1980s. I can’t remember them. Honestly, you can Zhang vs. Kabayel as the first fight of the night. are you kidding This is an amazing battle card. What do you have in there? Three world title fights, one undisputed fight.
“You have two guys in Vergil Ortiz and Boots Ennis who are supposed to be or at least earmarked as the future of American boxing, and you have Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield. It’s almost too good to be true. I expect a few of those will be knocked out.
The Saudis should have insisted that Shakur fight someone who at least has a chance to win, like Andy Cruz, Keyshawn Davis, Raymond Muratalla or Abdullah Mason.
“As much as I’m for a big fight card, you definitely want to save something for another big fight card later. It’s almost something for everyone, like for every region around the world. The British, we got something (Sheeraz). With Zhang you do the Asian market.”
Zhang is 41 and was recently beaten by Joseph Parker. Having him on the card makes for an entertaining fight, but he’s probably too old to beat Kabayel. Matching Parker against Kabayel would have been a better matchup, as would putting Zhang with Dubois. These will be fun fights.
“Then you have Floyd Schofield, Shakur Stevenson, Boots Ennis and Vergil Ortiz for the American market. You literally ticked every box,” Ade said.
Ennis-Ortiz is a keeper and could easily be the main event on this card as it will likely be more entertaining than the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch. Once again, the Saudis should reject the Shakur vs. Schofield matchup because it is expected to be a mismatch.
Before William Zepeda suffered a hand injury, there was talk of a fight between him and Shakur in February, and that would have been interesting. But Schofield is too young and inexperienced to fight Shakur. This fight will probably leave fans unhappy.
