The February twenty second card in Riyadh is taken into account a candidate for the most effective boxing occasion within the sport’s historical past. Some wonderful playing cards within the distant previous can compete with the proposed February twenty second card for high quality fights.
Proposed February twenty second Riyadh Card
– 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
Historic Comparisons
September 28, 1979, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
– Larry Holmes vs. Earnie Shavers
– Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Andy Value
– Roberto Duran vs. Zeferino Gonzalez
– Wilfredo Gomez vs. Carlos Mendoza
Might 8, 1993, The Mirage, Las Vegas
– Gerald McClellan vs. Julian Jackson
– Lennox Lewis vs. Tony Tucker
– Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Terrence Ali
Each of these playing cards from the 70s and 90s greater than rival the February twenty second card when it comes to aggressive matchups. The February occasion might surpass these playing cards with some minor tweaking with the matchmaking.
The February twenty second Riyadh card has two wonderful fights: undisputed mild heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol and Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron Ennis. These two stand out. Nevertheless, these fights nonetheless aren’t official, and not one of the six fights on the cardboard are a finished deal.
The rest of the cardboard entails good fights with predictable outcomes. These aren’t 50-50 matchups. For instance, WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson will defend in opposition to Floyd Schofield.
The Zhakur-Schofield struggle is a mismatch as a result of Schofield remains to be a 22-year-old novice who has but to chop his tooth in opposition to a top-tier opponent throughout his four-year profession. He’s been preventing as a professional so long as Jake Paul and has an identical padded resume.
“If that card is true, that’s the best struggle card I’ve seen in my life. I can’t bear in mind all of the struggle playing cards I’ve seen,” mentioned Ade Oladipo on his YouTube channel, speaking concerning the February twenty second card in Riyadh.
It’s unclear how lengthy Oladipo has been following boxing as a result of he appears like an off-the-cuff fan, not somebody who has been watching the game since he was a child.
“Lots of people speak concerning the Don King struggle playing cards within the Nineteen Eighties. I can’t bear in mind them. Truthfully, you possibly can have Zhang vs. Kabayel as the primary struggle of the night time. Are you kidding me? It’s an unbelievable struggle card. What have you ever received in there? Three world title fights, an undisputed struggle.
“You’ve received two guys in Vergil Ortiz and Boots Ennis which can be imagined to be or no less than earmarked as the way forward for American boxing, and also you’ve received Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield. It’s nearly too good to be true. I count on a few these to be knocked off.
The Saudis ought to have insisted on Shakur preventing somebody with no less than an opportunity of successful, like Andy Cruz, Keyshawn Davis, Raymond Muratalla, or Abdullah Mason.
“As a lot as I’m all for an enormous struggle card, certainly you need to save one thing for one more huge struggle card down the road. It’s nearly one thing for everybody, like for each area all over the world. The Brits, we received one thing [Sheeraz]. With Zhang, you’re doing the Asian market.”
Zhang is 41 and was not too long ago overwhelmed by Joseph Parker. Having him on the cardboard makes for an entertaining struggle, however he’s in all probability too previous to beat Kabayel. Matching Parker in opposition to Kabayel would have been a greater struggle, as would placing Zhang with Dubois. These could be enjoyable fights.
“Then you definately’ve received Floyd Schofield, Shakur Stevenson, Boots Ennis, and Vergil Ortiz for the American market. You’ve actually ticked each field,” mentioned Ade.
Ennis-Ortiz is a keeper and will simply be the primary occasion on this card as a result of it’s prone to be extra entertaining than the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch. Once more, the Saudis ought to reject the Shakur vs. Schofield struggle as a result of it’s anticipated to be a mismatch.
Earlier than William Zepeda suffered a hand harm, he and Shakur have been being talked about preventing in February, and it could have been attention-grabbing. However Schofield is simply too younger and inexperienced to struggle Shakur. That struggle might be going to depart followers sad.
