This Saturday will be the best boxing card of all time – three championship fights and three world title eliminators – and every contest could be a headliner in its own right.
The showpiece is the undisputed light heavyweight rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitrii Bivol and ahead of the action, ring kingpin Matt Gipon smashes through the best bets for the epic event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Boxing Tips
6pm Zhilei Zhang v Agit Kabayel
Agit Kabayel to win by points or decision
7pm Joshua Buatsi v Callum Smith
Callum Smith to win by decision/technical decision
8pm Carlos Adames v Hamzah Sheeraz
Hamza Sheeraz To Win the Fight in Round 9 – 12
9pm Vergil Ortiz Jr. v Israil Madrimov
Vergil Ortiz Jr. to win by points or decision
9:30pm Shakur Stevenson v Josh Padley
Stevenson To Win the Fight in Round 5-6
10pm Daniel Dubois v Joseph Parker
Daniel Dubois to win by decision/technical decision
*Daniel Dubois has since withdrawn from the fight due to illness and Martin Bakole has stepped in as a late replacement
11pm Artur Beterbiev v Dmitrii Bivol
Artur Beterbiev to win by decision/technical decision
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
This weekend, there’s the feel of a classic British boxing card – the headline bout is the world-class clash between Chorley’s Jack Catterall and California’s Arnold Barboza Jr, the main support act is the British title fight between Reece Bellotti and Michael Gomez Jr, while on the undercard Olympian Pat McCormack faces Robbie Davies Jr and Zelfa Barrett meets James “Jazza” Dickens.
Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV: Sky Sports Box Office
6pm: Zhilei Zhang v Agit Kabayel – Kabayel to win by points or decision
‘Big Bang’ Zhang has made a name for himself in the last three years with explosive performances, but the Chinese heavyweight hasn’t always come out on top. Kabayel has gone from a relatively unknown German to getting a shot at a big name after stopping two unbeaten stars in his last two bouts.
In his early career, Kabayel was fleet-footed and happy to win on points, but recently he’s shown a fearlessly aggressive side. He might need to curb his macho in the early rounds against a heavy-handed southpaw, but I think he has the skills and grit to take the win on the judges cards.
7pm: Joshua Buatsi v Callum Smith – Smith to win by decision/technical decision
This mouthwatering all-British scrap has been on the cards for a while, and with the light heavyweight belts tied up by the men in the main event, now is the time for either Buatsi or Smith to stake their claim as the next challenger.
Buatsi came from the 2016 Olympics with a bronze medal and a tonne of hype, but he’s yet to fully display his potential, and this is his toughest task to date. It looked like Smith’s career had come to an end after a knockout loss to Beterbiev last year, but the Liverpudlian is back, and I believe he has the experience and power to control the fight and win on the judges cards.
8pm: Carlos Adames v Hamzah Sheeraz – Sheeraz To Win in Round 9 – 12
Adames won the middleweight world title in his last fight in June and the Dominicano is a stocky, powerful and skilled boxer. For Sheeraz, this is a first step up to world level – the young, unbeaten Brit is untested at this level, but he’s operating way above domestic and European competition in recent bouts.
I still have reservations about how well-rounded Sheeraz is, but I also have question marks around Adames’ resilience and engine. Paddy makes Sheeraz a solid favourite, and I think the Brit will be too long and too explosive – I’m backing his power to tell late in the fight and I think he will improve his record with a KO win for the title on Saturday.
9pm: Vergil Ortiz Jr. v Israil Madrimov – Ortiz Jr. to win by points or decision
Ortiz and Madrimov are two of the best current fighters without a world title. America’s Ortiz is unbeaten in 22 fights with 21 KOs, while former champ Madrimov’s only defeat was a close decision loss to pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford.
Madrimov actually raised his stock in that defeat, while Ortiz’s last performance was his most questionable so far. I think these results are a bit misleading and Ortiz is still the classier operator – I’m backing him to show his power, speed and new-found experience in a decision victory.
9:30pm Shakur Stevenson v Josh Padley – Stevenson To Win the Fight in Round 5-6
When opportunity calls you have to pick up, but for Padley the call was a hell of an ask – on only three days notice the part-time sparky has to face one of the world’s best boxers for his lightweight world title.
Stevenson is known as a defensive wizard but he’ll see this as an opportunity to add some much needed offensive shine to his highlights reel. I think the American will be able to go through the gears at will on Saturday, so I’m picking him to deliver a middle rounds KO.
10pm Daniel Dubois v Joseph Parker – Dubois to win by decision/technical decision
There are no soft touches in the top 10 heavyweights any more, and Dubois’ first defence of the vacant title he picked up is against savvy former champ Parker. Dubois has gone from uber-prospect, to bottlejob, to heavyweight monster – but the truth is, his impressive recent results have been a product of brawn rather than ability.
Parker showed against Deontay Wilder and Zhang how good he is at shutting down big punchers, and I expect him to make this fight ugly. Both men have fast hands and I have no doubt big blows will land, but it could be a fight of small margins that goes the distance, and I think Dubois edges it.
*Daniel Dubois has since withdrawn from the fight due to illness and Martin Bakole has stepped in as a late replacement
11pm Artur Beterbiev v Dmitrii Bivol – Beterbiev to win by decision/technical decision
The final fight of the night will be the best. These two light heavies are unbelievably skilled and dangerous in equal measure, and the first fight in October only needed one judge to give an extra round to Bivol, for it to be scored a draw.
Age is against Beterbiev, but I feel that Bivol’s best shot was last year, when Artur was recovering from injury and inactivity. Dmitrii will have to roll the dice to win and I don’t think that’s in his nature, let alone against a man with a 95% KO ratio, so I’m picking Beterbiev to retain the unified crown again in Saudi.
Saturday’s Boxing Tips
6pm Zhilei Zhang v Agit Kabayel
Agit Kabayel to win by points or decision
7pm Joshua Buatsi v Callum Smith
Callum Smith to win by decision/technical decision
8pm Carlos Adames v Hamzah Sheeraz
Hamza Sheeraz To Win the Fight in Round 9 – 12
9pm Vergil Ortiz Jr. v Israil Madrimov
Vergil Ortiz Jr. to win by points or decision
9:30pm Shakur Stevenson v Josh Padley
Stevenson To Win the Fight in Round 5-6
10pm Daniel Dubois v Joseph Parker
Daniel Dubois to win by decision/technical decision
*Daniel Dubois has since withdrawn from the fight due to illness and Martin Bakole has stepped in as a late replacement
11pm Artur Beterbiev v Dmitrii Bivol
Artur Beterbiev to win by decision/technical decision
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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