The February 22nd card in Riyadh is considered a candidate for the best boxing event in the sport’s history. Some excellent cards in the distant past can compete with the proposed February 22nd card for quality fights.
Proposed February 22nd 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
Historical Comparisons
September 28, 1979, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
– Larry Holmes vs. Earnie Shavers
– Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Andy Price
– Roberto Duran vs. Zeferino Gonzalez
– Wilfredo Gomez vs. Carlos Mendoza
May 8, 1993, The Mirage, Las Vegas
– Gerald McClellan vs. Julian Jackson
– Lennox Lewis vs. Tony Tucker
– Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Terrence Ali
Both of those cards from the 70s and 90s more than rival the February 22nd card in terms of competitive matchups. The February event could surpass those cards with some minor tweaking with the matchmaking.
The February 22nd Riyadh card has two excellent fights: undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol and Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron Ennis. Those two stand out. However, these fights still aren’t official, and none of the six fights on the card are a done deal.
The remainder of the card involves good fights with predictable outcomes. These aren’t 50-50 matchups. For example, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson will defend against Floyd Schofield.
The Zhakur-Schofield fight is a mismatch because Schofield is still a 22-year-old novice who has yet to cut his teeth against a top-tier opponent during his four-year career. He’s been fighting as a pro as long as Jake Paul and has a similar padded resume.
“If that card is true, that is the greatest fight card I’ve seen in my life. I can’t remember all the fight cards I’ve seen,” said Ade Oladipo on his YouTube channel, talking about the February 22nd card in Riyadh.
It’s unclear how long Oladipo has been following boxing because he sounds like a casual fan, not someone who has been watching the sport since he was a kid.
“A lot of people talk about the Don King fight cards in the 1980s. I can’t remember them. Honestly, you could have Zhang vs. Kabayel as the first fight of the night. Are you kidding me? It’s an incredible fight card. What have you got in there? Three world title fights, an undisputed fight.
“You’ve got two guys in Vergil Ortiz and Boots Ennis that are supposed to be or at least earmarked as the future of American boxing, and you’ve got Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield. It’s almost too good to be true. I expect a couple of those to be knocked off.
The Saudis should have insisted on Shakur fighting someone with at least a chance of winning, like Andy Cruz, Keyshawn Davis, Raymond Muratalla, or Abdullah Mason.
“As much as I’m all for a big fight card, surely you want to save something for another big fight card down the line. It’s almost something for everyone, like for every region around the world. The Brits, we got something [Sheeraz]. With Zhang, you’re doing the Asian market.”
Zhang is 41 and was recently beaten by Joseph Parker. Having him on the card makes for an entertaining fight, but he’s probably too old to beat Kabayel. Matching Parker against Kabayel would have been a better fight, as would putting Zhang with Dubois. Those would be fun fights.
“Then you’ve got Floyd Schofield, Shakur Stevenson, Boots Ennis, and Vergil Ortiz for the American market. You’ve literally ticked every box,” said Ade.
Ennis-Ortiz is a keeper and could easily be the main event on this card because it’s likely to be more entertaining than the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch. Again, the Saudis should reject the Shakur vs. Schofield fight because it is expected to be a mismatch.
Before William Zepeda suffered a hand injury, he and Shakur were being talked about fighting in February, and it would have been interesting. But Schofield is too young and inexperienced to fight Shakur. That fight is probably going to leave fans unhappy.
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