Riyadh Ready To Rumble

By Frank Warren

CHRISTMAS IS QUICKLY closing in but, before we contemplate tucking into any turkey, we will encounter our Day of Reckoning in Riyadh.

Yes, probably the most bumper card in the history of boxing is nearly upon us and this significant sporting segment of Riyadh Season takes place on December 23 at the spectacular Kingdom Arena.

As you will all be aware by now, this card features eight major showdowns that will go a long way towards shaping what fights we have got to look forward to in 2024.

I won’t ramble on about them all in one column, so I will pick out four this time and cover the rest when we land in Riyadh to kick off fight week.

Obviously a fight with particular interest and personal investment for me is between Daniel Dubois and the big, brash American, Jarrell Miller.

This is something of a make or break fight for Daniel, where he needs to silence the doubters and show us all what he is made of.

He was originally due to be on holiday at this point in time and it was pleasing to me when he insisted that he wanted to get back in the ring and be part of these fistic festivities.

Daniel wants to banish any demons lingering from his world title tilt against Oleksandr Usyk in August when, without going over old ground again, it all could have ended very differently.

However, he didn’t see the fight through, which has resulted in people placing a question mark against his name when it comes to mental toughness and sticking in there.

He is up against a huge unit in Big Baby Miller, who will also stick it on Daniel across the pre-fight exchanges, which will be something he hasn’t particularly encountered before. To be quite honest, Daniel is a cool customer on the quiet and Miller running his mouth won’t faze him.

I don’t see the approach to this fight being especially tactical or scientific because we know Miller will use his ample frame and march forward to try and overwhelm our man. Daniel must employ his obvious attributes to fend him off and inflict damage of his own.

Daniel’s jab is as effective as anyone’s and his power is right up there with the best of them. He needs to make Miller taste that jab over and over again.

The proof of the pudding will be in the execution and this is Daniel’s big chance to put himself right back in the thick of the heavyweight mix.

Another Brit with similar intentions is Anthony Joshua, who goes up against former amateur rival Otto Wallin with the intention of positioning himself for potential mega fights next year.

The Olympic champion carries the air of a man with a steely determination to get back to where he once belonged. He has responded positively to his Usyk setbacks and kept himself active, waiting for a route back to the top to open up for him.

Now there is one, but he faces a clear and present danger in Wallin, who is displaying supreme confidence going into another fight against a top British heavy, with him having fought Tyson Fury in 2019.

Wallin is not in this fight to make up the numbers, he is highly ranked and poised to be pushed forward for a world title shot himself. His recent victory over Murat Gassiev reminded people of what he is all about and the Swede will fancy his chances going into this one.

The stakes are incredibly high for both men.

Lyndon Arthur will also be backing himself to succeed against one of the two light heavyweight world champions in Dmitrii Bivol.

Bivol is considered as right up there with the very best and a fight with his formidable countryman Artur Beterbiev is one fans across the globe are eager to see. Before we can think about that, Beterbiev has got to find a way past Calum Smith and Bivol could well have a tricky night on his hands against Lyndon.

Lyndon is a very capable fighter with many strengths but can sometimes appear to fight a bit within himself and does just enough to win. He will need to bring everything to the table against Bivol and he will know what a golden opportunity this is for him to upset the applecart and keep himself at the forefront with a big and lucrative target on his back.

Another with a huge chance to emerge from the shadows is the undefeated Cuban Frank Sanchez. The Miami-based heavyweight has operated outside of the spotlight and has, so far, been unable to really build on his career-best win over Efe Ajagba in 2021.

He can now showcase what he is all about against the big Kiwi Junior Fa and put himself in the reckoning for fights against the more familiar heavyweight suspects when we continue our plotting for a blockbuster 2024.