Matchroom announced the full Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol card for the October 12th event, with Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina being the co-feature, as expected. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fans are eager to see the headliner between IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) taking on WBA champ Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) for the undisputed 175-lb championship.
Co-Main Event: Stevenson vs Cordina Draws Criticism
It was already leaked on Monday that Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) would defend his WBC lightweight title against former IBF super featherweight champion Joe Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs). Shakur reportedly signed a one-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing, who promote the 32-year-old Cordina.
It’s not a fight that will interest U.S. fans and won’t help Shakur’s popularity, which has been sinking since last year after his disastrous performance against Edwin De Los Santos.
A 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 night approaching 🔥 The #BeterbievBivol undercard is set!
October 12 just got even bigger! 🇸🇦 #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/Mns04DrqwW
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) August 20, 2024
Fans in the U.S. are quickly discovering that Shakur is not star material and not worthy of their time or interest. There are many more exciting fighters in the lightweight division than Shakur, and that’s a problem for promoter Eddie Hearn if he signs him to a long-term deal.
Stevenson’s Focus: “Chasing the Bag”
Shakur appeared defiant on social media today, angrily telling critics that he’s “chasing the bag” and no longer fighting to please fans. He’s fighting for money; hence, the fight against recently brutally knocked out Cordina and Artem Harutyunyan rather than the top echelon fighters.
The card has many recognizable names, but the matches leave much to be desired. The best fighter on the card in terms of pure entertainment is IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (25-0, 19 KOs). He’ll defend against British fighter Jack Massey 922-2, 12 KOs), but this matchup has been done to please the UK fans.
Middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. is fighting Kamil Szeremeta. That’s not a great fight, given that Szeremeta isn’t ranked in the top 15 at 160 and is mostly known for being knocked out by Gennadiy Golovkin and Jaime Munguia. The card would be better if Matchroom excluded the bloat of adding the 34-year-old career underachiever Eubank Jr. He’s useless for the card, aside from giving the old timers something to look at.
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