BoxRec

So we have two Saudi cards coming up in February and March which will no doubt be filled with heavyweights. We know that Usyk vs Fury will headline the Feb card and Joshua will likely headline the March card against Hrgovic/Wilder. I've not sure anything has been announced for the rest of the cards so what fights would people want to see make up the rest of the cards?

For me it would be something like this...

February card:
1) Usyk vs Fury - For all the HW belts
2) Opetaia vs a CW champ or top CW contender
3) Parker vs Zhang - for WBO interim belt/final Eliminator
4) Joyce vs Bakole
5) Chisora vs Charr - for WBA Regular (I know... But Charr has called him out so...)
6) Sanchez vs Anderson
7) Wardley vs Hunter
8) Gassiev vs Pero

March card:
1) Joshua vs Hrgovic - IBF final Eliminator
2) Bivol vs Beterbiev (*or Smith) - For all the LHW belts
3) Dubois vs Kabayel - For Euro belt
4) Ruiz vs Wilder
5) Ajagba vs Makhmudov
6) Wallin vs Pulev
7) Huni vs McKean
8) Dychko vs Franklin

Extremely unlikely that any boxer from December 23th card will take part in February card.
Makhmudov broke his hand and underwent surgery.
February card:
1 Usyk vs Fury
2 Efe Ajagba vs Jared Anderson
3 Zhang vs Ruiz
4 Joyce vs Wardley

March card:
1 Joshua vs Hrgovic
2 Parker vs Sanchez/Kabayel
3 Sanchez/Kabayel vs Bakole
4 Dubois vs Hunter
5 Opetaia vs Justis Huni

Just going for big boys, mix in some other matchups if there there…

Feb,

usyk vs fury
Jah vs efe
Joyce vs yoka
Huni vs takem
Clarke vs wardly
Opetia vs badu jack

March (this assumes usyk fury is a 2 fight deal which I think it is)

-aJ vs hrg (ibf belt)
-Parker vs kabayal (wbc belt)
-Zhang vs bakole (WBO belt)
-DDD vs Ruiz
-Moses vs pulev
-Richard torrez jr vs dweko

gregregegg wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 17:02 March (this assumes usyk fury is a 2 fight deal which I think it is)

WBC, WBA, WBO expressed no intentions by now to strip would-be undisputed champion before Usyk-Fury rematch.

Zhang, Ruiz and Charr really need to get on one of these cards.

Neither Ruiz nor Charr had a single fight for 2023.

Zhang, already 40 and likely to get 'boxing old' very quickly, must capitalize while the opportunity presents itself. Assuming an opportunity does actually present itself because people aren't exactly kicking his door in after his demolitions of the thought to have been iron chinned Joyce.

bogan whisperer wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 18:57 ... people aren't exactly kicking his door in ...

The keys to all the doors at HW are now in the hands of Turki Al-AlShikh.

omalley wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 19:25

bogan whisperer wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 18:57 ... people aren't exactly kicking his door in ...

The keys to all the doors at HW are now in the hands of Turki Al-AlShikh.

It extends beyond the heavyweights too.

bogan whisperer wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 20:10

omalley wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 19:25

bogan whisperer wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 18:57 ... people aren't exactly kicking his door in ...

The keys to all the doors at HW are now in the hands of Turki Al-AlShikh.

It extends beyond the heavyweights too.

Maybe Abdul Wahid from Baltimore knows something about it ...

omalley wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 18:02

gregregegg wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 17:02 March (this assumes usyk fury is a 2 fight deal which I think it is)

WBC, WBA, WBO expressed no intentions by now to strip would-be undisputed champion before Usyk-Fury rematch.

They should…

Say they fight feb and July (probably the best case senareio.

So real best case senario a mandatory by December 2024 (which almost certainly won’t happen then anyway.).

For wbc that would be well over 2 years for a mando.

Will also be well over 2 years since the WBO interim title was created.

WBA not so much, as it just happened.

I like the idea of 1 champ, and like the idea of undisputed. But, if you fornicate about befor undisputed, then have a multi fight deal, then others should get a chance at the belts.

omalley wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 20:33

bogan whisperer wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 20:10

omalley wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 19:25
The keys to all the doors at HW are now in the hands of Turki Al-AlShikh.

It extends beyond the heavyweights too.

Maybe Abdul Wahid from Baltimore knows something about it ...

I don't think Tank knows much about anything other than hitting people.

gregregegg wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 20:44

omalley wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 18:02

gregregegg wrote: ↑29 Dec 2023, 17:02 March (this assumes usyk fury is a 2 fight deal which I think it is)

WBC, WBA, WBO expressed no intentions by now to strip would-be undisputed champion before Usyk-Fury rematch.

They should…

They should... but not in this world. There is no WBC mandatory challenger.
Official WBC Board of Governors Ruling (from WBC Convention in November):
--------
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed on February 17 2024 with a rematch guarantee, regardless of the result, which has been accepted. Consequently at this time the WBC has decided to table any discussions on mandatory as it is obvious that there cannot be a more important fight than the Undisputed championship and its rematch.

Where the hell is Rozanski ?

funso banjo baby wrote: ↑30 Dec 2023, 09:20 Where the hell is Rozanski ?

Rozanski vs Lerena? Wouldn't be the worst opening fight but I don't think many care about the division or the fighters enough to want to watch it.

funso banjo baby wrote: ↑30 Dec 2023, 09:20 Where the hell is Rozanski ?

Łukasz Różański vs Badou Jack, yes, you are quite right. I should've added this.

This Saudi money will spread far and wide. I think we will end up seeing all of boxing’s biggest stars competing on even bigger cards than last weeks.

Think we will see Crawford, Canelo, Tank etc all competing there in the next year or two

Gran Hermano wrote: ↑31 Dec 2023, 05:06 This Saudi money will spread far and wide. I think we will end up seeing all of boxing’s biggest stars competing on even bigger cards than last weeks.

Think we will see Crawford, Canelo, Tank etc all competing there in the next year or two

I love the optimisim…

I see this as a scary cash dump, hard to get rich people to risk losing for anything but mega bucks… so cahshed up boxers can present problems.

Also hard to get people to fight on a non Saudi card if there is Saudi money being dangled…

Reminds me of when dazn first started and was paying silly money, makes some fights happen short term, but corrupts the market and probably isn’t a good thing long term.

I’ll be happy while it’s delivering… but I’m a bit scared of how it will go.

gregregegg wrote: ↑31 Dec 2023, 19:02

Gran Hermano wrote: ↑31 Dec 2023, 05:06 This Saudi money will spread far and wide. I think we will end up seeing all of boxing’s biggest stars competing on even bigger cards than last weeks.

Think we will see Crawford, Canelo, Tank etc all competing there in the next year or two

I love the optimisim…

I see this as a scary cash dump, hard to get rich people to risk losing for anything but mega bucks… so cahshed up boxers can present problems.

Also hard to get people to fight on a non Saudi card if there is Saudi money being dangled…

Reminds me of when dazn first started and was paying silly money, makes some fights happen short term, but corrupts the market and probably isn’t a good thing long term.

I’ll be happy while it’s delivering… but I’m a bit scared of how it will go.

As we saw with the card just gone - they all took the fights on 6 weeks notice. Unheard of in boxing, especially when for a lot of them their reputations and careers were on the line. Money talks, and the Saudi's will be throwing a LOT of money to boxers in the next few years. We have seen in football that money is no object to them. They will pay whatever it takes to get what they want. Everybody has a price as Ted DiBiase used to say

Gran Hermano wrote: ↑01 Jan 2024, 06:58 Money talks, and the Saudi's will be throwing a LOT of money to boxers in the next few years.

Maybe. Or maybe NOT. The Saudi's may quickly become disappointed in boxing.

Throw 29 year old Heavyweight Fabio Wardley 17-0 16 KO on one of them
That's a good start.

Evander wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 04:14 Throw 29 year old Heavyweight Fabio Wardley 17-0 16 KO on one of them
That's a good start.

Good shout although id prefer to see him in england defending the brittish title vs fraze, chisora or joyce...... But Kabayal for the euro would be nice but i feel wardly ducks that (fair enough too).

omalley wrote: ↑01 Jan 2024, 08:34

Gran Hermano wrote: ↑01 Jan 2024, 06:58 Money talks, and the Saudi's will be throwing a LOT of money to boxers in the next few years.

Maybe. Or maybe NOT. The Saudi's may quickly become disappointed in boxing.

How long before some hybrid contests are set up?
Boxer vs Cage Fighter with some in between rules?

gregregegg wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 05:54

Evander wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 04:14 Throw 29 year old Heavyweight Fabio Wardley 17-0 16 KO on one of them
That's a good start.

Good shout although id prefer to see him in england defending the brittish title vs fraze, chisora or joyce...... But Kabayal for the euro would be nice but i feel wardly ducks that (fair enough too).

Why do you think he ducks it ?

I'd have Wardley defend his commonwealth title against Justis Huni and then win or lose defend the British against Frazer Clarke. Two cracking fights he can win.

Evander wrote: ↑04 Jan 2024, 04:09

gregregegg wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 05:54

Evander wrote: ↑03 Jan 2024, 04:14 Throw 29 year old Heavyweight Fabio Wardley 17-0 16 KO on one of them
That's a good start.

Good shout although id prefer to see him in england defending the brittish title vs fraze, chisora or joyce...... But Kabayal for the euro would be nice but i feel wardly ducks that (fair enough too).

Why do you think he ducks it ?

Just don’t think wardly would win, think his team would feel the same. Kabayal is a big fight, but probably not big enough for wardly to take it nthinking he will lose, unless there was crazy money.

Wardly can whack, but isn’t a great boxer. Kab was looking sharp last fight.

Kab probably has eyes on bigger and better things than wardly anyway. Just don’t see it happening really. But I’m wrong a lot.