The first Riyadh Season show of 2025 could be an absolute doozy, as Dan Rafael brings word of a planned five-fight lineup that includes an undisputed rematch alongside two title fights and a pair of incredibly intriguing non-title matchups.
The proposed main event would see Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KO) make an admirably tough voluntary defense of his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker. Once reeling from brutal losses to Joe Joyce, both men will enter the ring red-hot thanks to a string of strong victories. Dubois’ last two bouts have seen him smash Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, while Parker pulled off back-to-back upsets of his own over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.
In the co-feature, undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) would run it back with Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) after pulling off a razor-thin majority decision win in October. The IBF immediately ordered Beterbiev to defend against Michael Eifert, but Rafael claims they reached a step-aside deal.
Other bouts in the work include a previously revealed middleweight title fight between WBC champ Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KO) and top contender Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KO), a heavyweight tussle between Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KO) against Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KO), and a massive super welterweight clash pitting Vergil Ortiz Jr (22-0, 21 KO) against reigning IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (33-0, 29 KO).
If this all comes together, it may genuinely be the most stacked card I can remember. All killer no filler.