More of the same is expected over the coming twelve months and there is already a big night set in the calendar for Saturday 22nd February with a deep, impressive card that has a number of bouts that could have headlined events on their own.
Further announcements are expected to be made, while the UK based promoters that have really embraced working with Saudi Arabia have made it clear that they do want to put together stronger nights for the home fans.
David Benavidez vs David Morrell is set so the headline fights are not only being made by those associated with Saudi Arabia and this has to be a positive for the fans.
We are still going to be a little greedy and want a bit more- it would be good if Terence Crawford and some of the other top American names were more active, while it should not be too long before Canelo Alvarez announces his next fight.
The financial boost offered by the Saudi authorities have also helped create a year-long feel around Boxing, which in previous years might have had quieter months.
In January this year we have the return of Jai Opetaia and Naoya Inoue and both are hoping to win and then move onto bigger and better opportunities in the next several months.
Other decent fight nights have been put together with all the roads leading to the huge David Benavidez vs David Morrell fight on February 1st, which will open another good looking month of action.
After a disappointing 2023 for the Boxing Picks, it was a bounce back year in 2024 with a solid return all things considered.
In saying that, there is always room for improvement and that is where the focus will be over the next twelve months.
The easy number to point to is the 36% winning rate for the selections, but the fact that it did not prevent the Picks ending with a positive return underlines the difficulty of the markets.
For example, picking someone like Canelo Alvarez to beat Edgar Berlanga is not going to offer much of a payout and finding other angles to approach a fight like that offers much greater returns even if it is that much harder to string the winners together.
Ultmately it is about returning a number that ends in the black and not the red, although the ambition is to improve that hit rate in 2025.
Jai Opetaia vs David Nyika
The first big name heading out to the ring in 2025 is Jai Opetaia, arguably the top Cruiserweight in the sport.
Fans are hoping that the Australian will soon be heading into a bout with Gilberto Ramirez to really determine the top fighter in the Division, but it would be a mistake to look too far ahead.
A replacement was required after Huseyin Cinkara was forced to withdraw and many feel that David Nyika has helped stimulate a lot more interest in Jai Opetaia's homecoming.
Australia vs New Zealand will always do that and David Nyika is an experienced amateur, although has perhaps not has the exposure as a professional to really warrant this opportunity right now. That amateur experience is going to be important, but the pro game is different and this a huge challenge for The Nice Guy Nyika.
He has called for a firefight, although Jai Opetaia is not convinced that will be the case.
Instead the Champion believes David Nyika will try and box from the outside, but his lack of experience could see Jai Opetaia go through the gears pretty quickly with body work opening things up.
David Nyika Stopped Tommy Karpency in his last bout back in September, a fighter that has been in with plenty of big names. However, those have been at Light Heavyweight in the main and Karpency has clearly been worn down by plenty of other Stoppage defeats in his professional career and facing Jai Opetaia is a significant step up in opponent.
Mairis Breidis was able to take Jai Opetaia the distance in both fights between the pair in July 2022 and May 2024, but the Champion has been dominant against less stellar competition around those contests.
You know David Nyika is going to want to display his toughness, but that may actually work against him with him likely to be easy to find as far as Jai Opetaia is concerned.
Fighters from this part of the world are able to stand up to more punishment than you may expect, but this is a huge punching and dangerous Jai Opetaia and he is expected to make his superior level count. There is still a chance for David Nyika to come again, but the fight feels too early for the New Zealander and the likelihood is that we see that on display in another relatively early finish for the Champion.
Matchroom are one of the co-promoters of the event and they have placed a couple of their Heavyweights on the undercard who are hoping to follow Jai Opetaia's lead by building strong local support.
One of those is Justis Huni who has been spoken about as a potential opponent for Moses Itauma.
That does feel like a big step up for Huni considering he needed the cards to get the better of Andrew Tabiti and Kevin Lerena, two Cruiserweights coming into the Heavyweight Division.
The win over Lerena was on a card held in Riyadh, but Justis Huni has headed back to Australia for his last two fights and this is another showcase kind of bout for him.
Shaun Potgieter is next up for the home fighter and he has not been in with anyone like Justis Huni before, and that step up is expected to be evident before the bell to signal the Sixth Round is needed.
No one has lasted more than two Rounds with Teremoana Jr so far in his very young career and that is unlikely to have changed after his bout with Osasu Otobo. The latter's only previous defeat was in a Second Round Stoppage and Teremoana Jr can back up his first appearance under the Matchroom banner with another early night work having been out last month in Monaco.
MY PICKS: Jai Opetaia to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Justis Huni to Win Between 1-5 @ 1.61 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing 2024: 36-64, + 9.46 Units (126 Units Staked, + 7.51% Yield)
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