Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz, Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Jaron Ennis, and Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel are reportedly also in the works
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.
