AFTER much speculation the first Riyadh Season card of 2025 is now official and it promises to be a very special night of boxing.
The announcement was made tonight by Turki Alalshikh on social media platform X with promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn following suit.
On February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia the undisputed light heavyweight title will once again be on the line when champion Artur Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs), faces Dmitry Bivol, 23-1 (12 KOs), in a rematch four months on from their first fight. That October night Beterbiev squeaked past Bivol by split decision to take home all four world titles. The result was a contentious one, however, and now the top two at 175lbs will run it back.
IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), makes the second defence of his belt against former WBO titlist Joseph Parker, 35-3 (23 KOs). The Brit comes into the bout having knocked out former divisional boss Anthony Joshua but faces a rejuvenated Parker who has scored wins against Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
Shakur Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs) makes his first appearance on a Riyadh Season card when Matchroom’s latest marquee signing defends his WBC lightweight title against the up and coming Floyd Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs). Stevenson had hoped to face Golden Boy Promotions’ lightweight star William Zepeda but the Mexican withdrew because of 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 would fight for a world title next year with many believing it would come against the current 160lbs number one Zhanibek Alimkhanuly. That fight was put to one side, however, when Sheeraz withdrew from his mandatory position from the WBO to focus instead on the green and gold belt.
The lively super welterweight scene adds another intriguing fight to its list on February 22 when Vergil Ortiz Jr, 22-0 (21 KOs), does battle with Israil Madrimov, 10-1-1 (7 KOs) for the WBC’s Interim 154lb strap. It remains to be seen, though, if Madrimov will fight on December 21 in Riyadh against Serhii Bohachuk. Their scheduled bout comes nine weeks before facing Ortiz Jr. The latter was linked to a fight against Jaron Ennis but with no agreement made the unbeaten 26-year-old gets to pit his wits against the former WBA champion Madrimov who lost narrowly to Terence Crawford in August.
Another heavyweight battles lands in Riyadh on the same night when Zhilei Zhang, 27-2-1 (22 KOs), and Agit Kabayel, 25-0 (17 KOs), lock horns for the WBC Interim heavyweight belt. Zhang returned to winning way beating Wilder last time out while Kabayel has made the most of his slots on Riyadh Season cards impressing against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez.
Rounding off the announcement is a fight which could easily top a televised card in the UK. 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 at his spiteful best beating 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 hard-hitting Liverpudlian dusted off the cobwebs after a 10 month layoff by stopping Carlos Galvan in five rounds on Saturday night.