Ranking the fights: Beterbiev-Bivol, Wardley-Clarke and more
-
Nick Parkinson
Saturday brings another stacked boxing card in Saudi Arabia, headlined by the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol matchup for the undisputed light heavyweight championship.
It’s a fight of rare quality, between two brilliant fighters in the latest ESPN pound-for-pound top 10 to crown the first four-belt light heavyweight world champion.
But there are more fights on the bill before Beterbiev faces Bivol, including title fights at cruiserweight and women’s featherweight.
ESPN ranks the five best fights on Saturday’s Riyadh Season bill.
No. 5: Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman
Nicolson, the WBC featherweight champion, and Chapman (9-0, 2 KOs) will contest the first female fight on a Riyadh Season event in Saudi Arabia. Women’s boxing has not been part of the big-money Riyadh Season fight cards, which is hosting boxing’s biggest cards mostly in Saudi Arabia.
You get the feeling a good fight will help convince Turki Alalshikh, who controls lineups on Saudi Arabia-backed boxing events, to include more women’s boxing events on Riyadh Season events.
And Nicolson (11-0, 1 KO) vs. Chapman (9-0, 2 KOs) has the ingredients to be an enthralling encounter. Nicolson is great on her feet with slick boxing skills, while Chapman brings plenty of aggression.
No. 4: Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta
Eubank’s career has just never got going. He has blamed a string of promoters he has worked with over the years, but at 35, Eubank is running out of time to win a legitimate world title for the first time. Eubank (33-3, 24 KOs) has won interim and fringe belts, but never one of the four major titles. A shock fourth-round stoppage loss to Liam Smith last year was damaging, and he has not fought since avenging that loss just over a year ago.
Eubank can be a vicious fighter, and if he can produce an efficient display perhaps he will finally face one of boxing’s biggest stars. He has recently been linked with fighting super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez or middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz, who is in sensational form. We have been here before with Eubank, who never ended up fighting Gennadiy Golovkin despite extensive talks to make it happen.
With his promoter Ben Shalom talking of Eubank fighting Canelo next May or September, this fight becomes a lot more interesting. Can he produce a big performance to seal a clash with Canelo next year?
Szeremeta (25-2-2, 8 KOs) does not have a formidable record and he was outclassed when he stepped up to elite level against Jaime Munguia and Golovkin in 2021 and 2020 respectively. He even drew his last fight in February and it looks like Eubank’s team has carefully selected Szeremeta as a warm-up bout for Eubank.
No. 3: Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey
Opetaia has performed like a class apart from the rest of the cruiserweight division and looks too strong for Massey (22-2, 12 KOs). It’s not as competitive a matchup as others on the card, but Opetaia (25-0, 11 KOs) deserves your attention.
He is boldly talking up the possibility of fighting Oleksander Usyk. Usyk is an undisputed world champion at heavyweight and cruiserweight, who has talked about one day dropping back down to the 200-pound division to finish his career.
“I would love to fight Usyk one day,” Opetaia said. “Both Opetaia and Usyk fought at the 2012 Olympics and it would be a popular fight.” Due to Opetaia’s ambitious plans, it is hard to see him having an off night against Massey.
No. 2: Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke
If you’re unfamiliar with Wardley and Clarke, don’t let that put you off tuning in to see what promises to be a barn burner of a heavyweight rematch.
Their last fight was a white-knuckle roller coaster ride. Wardley (17-01, 16 KOs) began better and floored Clarke, an Olympic bronze medallist, in Round 5. That seemed to stir Clarke into action in the sixth round, but he lost some ground when he was docked a point for a low blow in Round 7. Clarke (8-0-1, 6 KOs) made up some ground after that, and Wardley finished a savage fight on wobbly legs. Both thought they had won, but the judges couldn’t split them and returned a draw verdict.
Both are among the chasing pack, jostling for position should any of the three world titles Usyk holds (WBA, IBF and WBO) become vacant in 2025. Joseph Parker, Agit Kabayel, Martin Bakole and Zhilei Zhang are closer to a world title shot than Wardley or Clarke, but a good performance on Saturday could fast-track their careers.
No. 1: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol
This long-anticipated clash is one of the biggest fights of 2024, and both Russians are in their prime. The winner will become the first ever undisputed light heavyweight champion in the four-belt era, and the first undisputed champion at 175 pounds since Roy Jones Jr. in 2002.
This title fight is also a close one to call, with Bivol’s slick skill set against Beterbiev’s destructive power. Joshua Buatsi, the WBO mandatory challenger from England, is lying in wait for a crack at the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol, and even he told ESPN last month he can’t pick a winner.
Questions that will be answered in the ring include, will Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), the WBC, IBF and WBO champion, be hampered by a knee injury that caused him to pull out of the initial date for this fight? Beterbiev ruptured his meniscus in training, and if he is not completely healed it could be a defining factor in the outcome of this fight as Bivol (23-0, 11 KOs), the WBA champion, outmaneuvers opponents with his jab and impeccable footwork. Bivol also has the confidence of registering his first stoppage win in 10 fights with a sixth-round TKO over Malik Zinad in June. Plus, he has the experience of delivering on the big stage before, as he boxed masterfully to outpoint Canelo Alvarez in May 2022.
Another question we will learn the answer to is, can Beterbiev extend his 100% KO ratio against his toughest opponent to date? None of his opponents have been able to resist Beterbiev’s punches so far, including big hitters like Callum Smith, Anthony Yarde and Joe Smith Jr. While we might be wondering if Bivol can avoid becoming Betbiev’s latest fall guy, Beterbiev apparently doesn’t think too much about it.
“I don’t really think about the record,” Beterbiev told ESPN last year. “I don’t know what is behind the knockout run. I think maybe I have a couple secrets which I keep in the boxing gym. I never think about getting the knockout, I always think about what I can do to be a good boxer.”
Expect Bivol to jab and move, as he uses the ring well. But even if he has a comfortable points lead late in the fight, Beterbiev will still be dangerous, making this fight deserving your full attention.
