Make no mistake, this is a huge fight at Light Heavyweight, rather than Super Middleweight, and the winner is almost certainly going to be next in line for a shot at the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol rematch coming up in three weeks time.
Of course a trilogy between the top two Light Heavyweights cannot be ruled out if it is revenge and not repeat on Saturday 22nd February, but the winner on Saturday is still likely going to receive big interest from the Saudi authorities and that comes with some big rewards over the next twelve months.
It is the big fight of the weekend and the main event is well backed up by a solid undercard.
Prior to this event, Adam Azim is back in action in London as he looks to take the next step in his own development in an open Division and one where a domestic rivalry with Dalton Smith continues to build.
You could not really ask for a better way to get February kicked off and there are some big fights to come over the next month, which in turn could set up even bigger nights over the remainder of 2025.
Of course those heading out to the ring on Saturday will be looking to impress promoters/local authorities with deep pockets and it should be a really good night for fans.
Adam Azim vs Sergey Lipinets
There are three leading names in British Boxing when it comes to the Light-Welterweight Division and that does not include the soon to return Josh Taylor.
Jack Catterall has had world level experience and will be out in a couple of weeks in a bout against Arnold Barboza Jr in what the WBO have described as an eliminator for the WBO World Title held by Teofimo Lopez.
Last week Dalton Smith was crushing an overmatched opponent and he is pushing to be called as the next challenger for the WBC World Title, which is going to be on the line when Alberto Puello defends against Sandor Martin in early March.
His promoters would have preferred to have seen Dalton Smith in the ring with Adam Azim, but the young, unbeaten fighter is on his own path and the hope is that both will meet with a lot more on the line at some point over the next twelve months.
That means continuing to win boxing fights and Azim is headlining in London on Saturday against Sergey Lipinets, a veteran who is a former World Champion, but who at 35 years old is past his best.
Almost four years have passed since Lipinets was Stopped in the Sixth Round by Jaron Ennis and he has had just three fights in that time- he is 2-1 in those three fights, but Sergey Lipinets was rocked by Robbie Davies Jr in May 2024 and he has not had a competitive fight since rallying to win that one on the cards.
Now he has to face a fresh, hungry young fighter and it might be tough for the Kazakh to actually stand up to the speed and deceptive power carried by Adam Azim.
The Stoppages have taken a bit longer as Adam Azim has stepped up his level of competition, but this might be the right opponent at the right time in his bid to make a statement.
Any Stoppage of Sergey Lipinets would make headlines, but there is a feeling that the 35 year old is not the same force he once was and the inactivity is a real concern.
It will be important for Adam Azim to not rush his work to try and out-do Dalton Smith and there has to be a respect for what Lipinets has achieved in his career.
However, the feeling is that this is a good time to be facing an inactive former Champion who was hurt in his last fight and Adam Azim may just be able to roll through the gears and get this done perhaps even earlier than Jaron Ennis managed back in 2021.
David Benavidez vs David Morrell
Canelo Alvarez has long held all of the cards in the Super Middleweight Division and he refused to entertain the idea of fighting either of these two fighers.
Instead of waiting for the Mexican to make up his mind and throw them a bone, David Benavidez and David Morrell have refused to allow their own career to stall and a decision was made to move up into the Light Heavyweight Division.
Options within the Division were pretty limited considering Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol were heading into a rematch with all of the World Titles on the line so credit has to be given to both Davids.
They have picked up Interim World Titles and the winner is likely going to be a frontrunner to become the next big Challenger in the Light Heavyweight Division.
Both are unbeaten, although David Benavidez has the greater experience in a professional ring and his resume looks much stronger than David Morrell's.
However, there has long been a big expectation on the shoulders of David Morrell, although he was not very convincing in his debut in the 175 pound Division.
It is a top main event on Saturday and it is very difficult to imagine this developing into anything other than a rough, tough, bruising encounter and one that will take something away from both winner and loser.
David Benavidez has looked the more confident and his experience might be key, but David Morrell has plenty of power and it would be a surprise if this is a bout that needs the final bell.
Out of the two unbeaten Champions, David Morrell has perhaps shown that his power is a telling factor early, but he may not carry it as much as David Benavidez and that could be the key to the outcome of this big main event.
The Mexican Monster might just wear down David Morrell, who can recover, especially in this era where the zero is no longer considered as important thanks to the money being pumped into the sport by the Saudi Arabian promoters.
I expect plenty of heavy leather to be thrown and David Morrell may not be able to keep David Benavidez from getting on top over the Twelve Rounds scheduled, which may end up leading to a statement victory for the 28 year old. He may take a little bit of time to warm up against the southpaw, but Benavidez can get through the early tough moments and begin to push through the gears and break down the will of David Morrell.
The undercard is unsurprisingly a good one for the first big American night of Boxing and the rematch between Stephen Fulton and Brandon Figueroa should see the two pick up from where they left off in November 2021.
Both have moved up from the Super Bantamweight Division where the initial bout between these Boxers was fought out, and it is Brandon Figueroa who holds the WBC World Title.
Inactivity is an issue for both, but you do have to wonder if Naoya Inoue may have taken something away from Stephen Fulton and not only his unbeaten record and World Title in the Division below.
He was dropped in his first fight in this Division, although was not that badly hurt, and Brandon Figueroa is capable of putting the big shots together and will believe he is the stronger fighter at this weight.
Stephen Fulton showed his determination in winning last time out, despite being dropped, but it will be tough to stand up to the pressure of Brandon Figueroa- he won a tight one when these two met over three years ago, but this time the Champion can underline his status by finding the shots to close the show before needing to go to the cards.
After losing last time out and having some of the momentum slowed down on a Riyadh Season card, Isaac Cruz is back and the expectation is that he will get back to doing what he does best.
There are still questions about him moving up the weights to chase the big fights, but Isaac Cruz is a focused fighter and that is underlined by the fact that he refused to discuss a fight with Ryan Garcia for May.
Instead Cruz is looking to get the better of Angel Fierro and the 26 year old may struggle to deal with his compatriot's experience at a much higher level.
Angel Fierro has been beaten twice in the lower weights and it feels like the Cruz team have selected him as someone who will stand in front of their fighter and give him a very good chance of looking strong again.
Losing to Jose Valenzuela was very disappointing, but this feels a step back in level and Isaac Cruz can get back to winning ways in a big way.
One of the big upsets of 2020, just before Covid shut down the world, saw Jeison Rosario crush Julian Williams to become a Unified World Champion in the Light Middleweight Division.
Nine months later he was beaten into submission by Jermell Charlo having been Knocked Down in two of the first Seven Rounds before the Eighth Round Stoppage and that has sparked a downward trend for the Dominican.
Four wins and two losses, with one draw, have followed that defeat to Charlo and Jeison Rosario has been Stopped in all of his career defeats.
Next up is Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr who is still rebuilding after a defeat to Erickson Lubin.
Early successes had Ramos Jr looking to move into elite company in the Light Middleweight Division and his power has carried in fights.
Someone like Rosario is not going to be hard to find and that could give Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr the opportunities to match Brian Mendoza and finish this fight in the first half of the scheduled Ten Rounds.
It is telling that Jeison Rosario has been dropped multiple times and early in some of the recent contests and standing in front of Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr can only lead to bad things.
On Friday night, Matchroom do have a card being headlined by a couple of young fighters that they are hoping to develop.
Both Junaid Boston and George Liddard may soon be facing one another to separate their paths, but for now they are in individual fights and looking to build momentum.
They face Bilwal Fawaz and Derrick Osaze in the next step of their careers and both will have to be respected with the experience they have.
However, Boston and Liddard are destined for bigger things and they may both make statements with Stoppages without hearing the bell for the start of the Sixth Round.
MY PICKS: Adam Azim to Win Between 1-6 @ 3.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)
David Benavidez to Win by KO/TKO @ 4.33 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Brandon Figueroa to Win by KO/TKO @ 3.75 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Isaac Cruz to Win by KO/TKO @ 2.00 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Jesus Alejandro Ramos Jr to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Junaid Boston to Win Between 1-5 @ 3.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
George Liddard to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.75 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Boxing 2025: 3-4, + 0.53 Units (9 Units Staked, + 5.89% Yield)
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