Beterbiev-Bivol rematch on February 22

AFTER much speculation, the first card of the 2025 Riyadh Season is now official and promises to be a very special night of boxing.

The announcement was made tonight by Turki Alalshikh on social media X with promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn following suit.

On February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the undisputed light heavyweight title will once again be on the line when champion Artur Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs), meets Dmitry Bivol, 23-1 (12 KOs), in a rematch four months. since their first battle. On that October night, Beterbiev edged Bivol by a split decision to claim four world titles. The results were controversial, however, and now the top two at 175lbs will return.

IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), makes the second defense of his belt against former WBO titlist Joseph Parker, 35-3 (23 KOs). The Brit comes into the boat after knocking out former division boss Anthony Joshua but faces Parker who has beaten Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.

Shakur Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs) makes his first appearance on the Riyadh Season card when Matchroom’s latest marquee signing to defend his WBC lightweight title is Floyd Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs). Stevenson had hoped to face Golden Boy Promotions’ lightweight star William Zepeda but the Mexican withdrew due to injury giving Schofield the biggest fight of his career.

Britain could have another world champion by the end of the night if Hamzah Sheeraz, 21-0 (17 KOs) can dethrone WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames, 24-1 (18 KOs). Promoter Frank Warren confirmed weeks ago that his middleweight star will fight in the world next year and many believe it will be against 160lbs Zhanibek Alimkhanuly. The fight was put to one side, however, and Sheeraz stepped down from his WBO title to focus on the green and gold belt.

The top live welterweight appears to add another interesting fight to his list on February 22 when Vergil Ortiz Jr, 22-0 (21 KOs), fights Israil Madrimov, 10-1-1 (7 KOs) for the WBC Interim 154lb belt. However, it seems, if Madrimov will fight on December 21 in Riyadh against Serhii Bohachuk. The planned fight comes nine weeks before he faces Ortiz Jr. The latter was linked with a fight against Jaron Ennis but the no deal led to the 26-year-old taking on former WBA champion Madrimov who lost narrowly to Terence Crawford. in August.

Another heavyweight fight falls in Riyadh that night as Zhilei Zhang, 27-2-1 (22 KOs), and Agit Kabayel, 25-0 (17 KOs), lock horns for the WBC Interim heavyweight belt. Zhang bounced back and beat Wilder in the final while Kabayel made the most of his opportunities on the Riyadh Season card that impressed Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez.

Breaking the news is a fight that could be at the top of the UK televised card. Joshua Buatsi, 19-0 (13 KOs), puts his world title aspirations on the line when he defends his WBO Interim belt against Callum Smith, 30-2 (22 KOs). Buatsi looked back on his devastating defeat of Willy Hutchinson in September while Smith, who lost to Beterbiev in January, continues to pursue his ambitions of becoming a two-weight world champion. The tough Liverpudlian dusted off his 10-month layoff by stopping Carlos Galvan in five rounds on Saturday night.