Eddie Hearn will also be in Riyadh for the 'Day of Reckoning' with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder headlining separate events. There is every hope that a win each would mean we have a fight between the two that has been long in the making and potentially landing in the first quarter of the 2024 season.
Plenty of other big name Heavyweights and also the leading Cruiserweight and, arguably, the leading Light Heavyweight will also be showcased on this card just two days before Christmas.
Earlier this month, Devin Haney really showed what he is about by shutting out Regis Prograis after knocking down the Light-Welterweight World Champion before a wide, wide Decision on the cards.
That is huge news for Haney who continues to look like a fighter that can move even higher in the weight Divisions.
Most exciting is that Devin Haney is willing to make the big fights and there looks to be some really good looking bouts involving the American over the next couple of years.
He looks special and will move into the Pound for Pound Rankings, but Bam Rodriguez arguably impressed even more when Stopping Sunny Edwards.
Bam is going to be moving up the weight Divisions and is chasing a fight with Juan Francisco Estrada after the superb all around performance in beating Edwards. He is another that is still young enough to grow further and perhaps even become a three or four weight World Champion and the statement win on Saturday will mean plenty are going to be watching his career with real interest.
It has been a really good year for the Boxing fans around the globe with some quality fights, although my Picks have not been able to have the successes of 2022.
That is a disappointment, but there are two more cards to come before the end of the season and there are already some really good looking nights on the schedule in January and February.
As fans, we have to be excited by what is to come and the hope is that there are some seriously good fights yet to be announced- we may have news as soon as the 'Day of Reckoning' is in the books and it should be another fun year for all to enjoy.
One fight we are not expecting to get over the line is the Conor Benn vs Chris Eubank Jr one that had been rumoured for Saturday 3rd February- I expect that to be revisited later in the year if Benn can finally clear his issues with the British Board, but for now both will move in different directions and Benn's next fight is expected to be announced imminently as he looks to get out on that date anyway.
Day of Reckoning- Anthony Joshua vs Otto Wallin/Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker
The money has been lined up to put this stacked card together in Saudi Arabia, although the excitement of seeing so many big names on the same bill has perhaps overshadowed the match making.
In reality this is the fight before THE fight for a lot of the favourites on show in Riyadh.
The headliner and expected main event is Anthony Joshua who has made good on his promise to become more active this year after back to back losses to Oleksandr Usyk. This will be the third time he has been in the ring since April and it should only help improve him as a fighter, while also rebuilding what may believe is shattered confidence.
Being 'gun shy' in the Heavyweight Division is a recipe for disaster, but Anthony Joshua has gone to work with Ben Davison and this is expected to help him uncork a few more combinations. The talk is that he will head back to Texas to work with Derrick James, but the Davison link up is interesting.
Tyson Fury's former Head Trainer, Ben Davison was let go after the close win over Otto Wallin when he was heavily criticised by John Fury. He had some decent work put together with Fury and Ben Davison has also been pretty important for other big name British Boxers.
Having that insight into Wallin should help and Anthony Joshua is expected to be well prepared, although will need to be better than he was against Robert Helenius.
It was a brutal Knock Out, but Otto Wallin is not nearly as shop-worn as Helenius. He has won six in a row since the loss to Fury, when his stock rose significantly, and the Swede is a big Southpaw, which is going to be a tough test for the former Heavyweight Champion.
At the same it should be noted that Wallin has not nearly built on the performance against Fury in the manner expected- his best wins since that defeat are against Dominic Breazeale (UD) and Murat Gassiev (SD), but this is a considerable step up.
Otto Wallin has shown he has decent fundamentals, but the feeling is that he lacks top level power and may not be able to test the Anthony Joshua chin much more than Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius.
The Southpaw stance will cause some problems, but Joshua might be able to get into a position where his combinations can be unleashed. The power is still there when he throws and Anthony Joshua looks like he could make a real statement on this Day of Reckoning by forcing a Stoppage of a potential banana skin of an opponent.
The chief support is supplied by Deontay Wilder who faces Joseph Parker, a meeting between two former Heavyweight Champions who could put three of the four World Titles on the line if they had come together for a Unification in 2019. Instead it was Anthony Joshua who took on Parker and beat him to Unify, but both Wilder and Parker have spoken about the excitement of finally being able to lock horns.
Back in March 2018, both Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker were unbeaten World Champions and the latter became the first to complete all Twelve Rounds against AJ. He still lost on the day, but Parker has continued to be in and around the UK scene, while getting closer to another World Title shot.
Ultimately he has come short thanks to losses to Dillian Whyte and Joe Joyce and there is still the feeling that he 'lacks the mongrel' to really take on the best.
There are attributes to respect- Joseph Parker is athletic and quick and has decent pop, but his three wins since being Stopped by Joe Joyce have been against middle of the road Heavyweights.
Now he takes on one of the best.
Deontay Wilder's inactivity is perhaps the biggest worry, although the power of that right hand will still be very much active.
One Round in over two years cannot be good for anyone though and you have to believe Joseph Parker will offer a bit more than Robert Helenius who was wiped out just before the end of the First Round by the American former WBC World Champion.
There is still talk about becoming Undisputed, but that is a long way away for Deontay Wilder and especially with some of the Belts expected to fracture once the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk fight on 17th February is completed. At 38 years old, time is not on the side of Deontay Wilder and instead the focus might be on targeting a massive payday against Anthony Joshua.
Rumours are that a fight between the two has been agreed as long as both come out of the Day of Reckoning with another win on the resume.
Andy Lee will devise a strong game plan for Joseph Parker and Tyson Fury will have given him some insight- what cannot be denied is that Deontay Wilder got to Fury a number of times across their three fights, and the question is whether Parker has the same power of recovery.
It feels like that time might have gone for the New Zealander who has been put down by Whyte, Chisora and down for good by Joe Joyce. Deontay Wilder sets up his right hand well enough to believe he will be able to find the shot or two he needs and Joseph Parker may no longer have the kind of resistance needed to push the American as deep into this fight as he would be targeting.
It is a Heavyweight night in Saudi Arabia right up and down the card.
One of the Super-Heavyweights making noise in the lead up to the Day of Reckoning is Jarrell Miller who takes on Daniel Dubois in a fascinating clash.
In another universe Miller has not made the mistakes and poor decisions that saw a potential home fight with Anthony Joshua fall apart and perhaps it was him, not Andy Ruiz Jr, who caused a monster upset in June 2019. In our world, Jarrell Miller is rightly criticised for the failed drugs tests that led to a ban from the sport, although Boxing will sweep issues under the carpet when it comes to chasing the cash.
There is little doubt that Miller is an excellent character for those looking for a soundbite, and he has been very good at that during this run towards December 23rd. However, the American is a significant underdog in this fight with Daniel Dubois, even if the confidence is seeping out of every pore and every time Jarrell Miller speaks.
The two defeats suffered by Daniel Dubois has aided that confidence- losing to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk is no disgrace for a relatively young Heavyweight, but a perception that Dubois 'quit' in both losses is much harder to shake.
The feeling about the bout is that Daniel Dubois has plenty of punch power and speed that makes him very dangerous early... However, what is he going to do if this huge American is still standing after Six Rounds and still plodding forward throwing his punches in bunches?
Jarrell Miller is not the biggest hitter, but he throws a lot and wears down opponents mentally and physically.
Not to be that guy, but I am unsure what the testing procedures have been for this event that was announced in a pretty small window.
Since returning from his ban, Jarrell Miller has not really impressed, although he has banked some Rounds. The Sixth Round win over Lucas Browne last April is nothing to write home about, but Miller has shown durability and he will need all of that in this fight.
It is early when Daniel Dubois will have the majority of his success- only one of his victories has come beyond the Fifth Round, while both of his losses have been late in those fights with Joyce and Usyk. He might be winning early, but Dubois is going to have to show something that he has not before and this looks like potentially being the one big upset on a card stacked with favourites.
This is a expected to be scheduled as a Ten Rounder, so it is possible that Dubois can bank enough Rounds early on to win this one even if it gets to the cards.
What has to be shown is the ability to handle the pressure and being able to ignore the negativity of when a fight is going against him- you know Jarrell Miller will bring as much mental pressure as physical pressure, and a small interest in the New Yorker to come through with an important win has to be taken.
Some were surprised that Jarrell Miller would get the call on such a big card after his previous issues, but Mark de Mori being asked to fight Filip Hrgovic really came out of left field.
The last most would have seen of de Mori is losing to David Haye in the First Round in January 2016.
He has won all eleven fights since that defeat, but those have been against much lower level than facing someone like Hrgovic who will have World Title ambitions.
Filip Hrgovic can be something of a slow starter, but Mark de Mori has openly stated that he is going to come forward and try and make this a fight and that can only be bad news.
There are two other Heavyweight bouts on this deep card and one that is perhaps more intriguing than the other.
Arslanbek Makhmudov is going to be well supported in Saudi Arabia, but Agit Kabayel will also have plenty backing him.
Both are unbeaten and will be looking to push on for a World Title shot in 2024 once the Belts fracture after February 17th.
The feeling is that Kabayel has not really kicked on his career as he should have and he has been relatively inactive. He might try and move and frustrate the big Russian, but the expectation is that Arslanbek Makhmudov will test the Agit Kabayel chin pretty early.
Most have not been able to stand up to that power and the man with seventeen Stoppages in eighteen wins can secure another relatively early ending to the work.
Frank Sanchez is expected to have too much for Junior Fa who has lost to Joseph Parker and Lucas Browne when stepping up his level of competition.
The loss to Browne was really stunning and this looks a match up in which Cuban Flash can impress.
A couple of British fighters have been afforded a big opportunity to take on arguably the best in class in their respective Divisions.
While this is a Heavyweight loaded card, both Dmitry Bivol and Jai Opetaia are also defending their Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight World Titles.
Most would accept that Opetaia is the man to beat at Cruiserweight, but Dmitry Bivol needs to get business sorted with the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Callum Smith fight to prove he is the man at Light Heavyweight.
Dmitry Bivol should have too much for Lyndon Arthur, although the question marks are around the fact that the World Champion has not been in the ring for thirteen months.
He has been dealing with injury and Dmitry Bivol can sometimes coast to an easy Decision, but Lyndon Arthur has looked a little worn down at times in recent fights.
Anthony Yarde Stopped him and other opponents have hurt him, which is a problem for the British fighter and Bivol can force an end before needing the judges to determine the winner.
If the feeling is that Lyndon Arthur is stepping up, it is certainly the case for Ellis Zorro.
He is unbeaten in seventeen, but Ellis Zorro has never been in with anyone of this level and the lack of Stoppages on the record is massive concern against someone like Jai Opetaia.
The latter crushed Jordan Thompson in Four Rounds to take that unbeaten record from a British fighter and Jai Opetaia is expected to have his own way in this one.
A vicious puncher, this is a good chance for Opetaia to just remind all that he is still the man to see in the Cruiserweight Division, even after being ridiculously forced to drop his IBF World Title by agreeing to head to Riyadh for this bout.
MY PICKS: Anthony Joshua to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.62 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Deontay Wilder to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.37 William Hill (2 Units)
Jarrell Miller @ 3.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Filip Hrgovic to Win Between 1-2 @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Filip Hrgovic to Win Between 1-2 @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Arslanbek Makhmudov to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Frank Sanchez to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.25 Coral (2 Units)
Dmitry Bivol to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.20 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Jai Opetaia to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing 2023: 58-107, - 41.33 Units (305 Units Staked, - 13.55% Yield)
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