The upcoming December 21 card, set to be headlined by Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury who will compete in their 2nd bout of the year, has been fully outfitted with a wide complement of top fighters. Co-main eventing on the star-studded card will be Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk who lost to their opponents just a week away from each other and are seeking to prove their worth as potential future world title challengers once more. The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is set to stage this prevalent card, aided by Riyadh Season’s sponsorship.
The main event will see Ukrainian unified heavyweight (200+ lbs) champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KO’s) defend his three titles [WBA. WBC and WBO] against Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO’s) after vacating his IBF title around 2 months ago. The two first competed on May 18th which saw Usyk rise to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Perhaps the most interesting announced contest beside the Usyk-Fury bout will be the upcming match between Uzbekistani super welterweight (154 lbs) contender Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO’s) and Ukrainian contender Serhii Bohachuk (24-2, 23 KO’s). While both fighters suffered a loss to their respective opponents within the span of a single week, their performances left plenty of indication they can scramble back to the top with the right fights.
As such, the bout between the two may define the future of 154 lbs, despite no [interim] title having yet been announced to be made available for their fight. Regardless, there is a high chance for the winner to become considered the #1 contender given both are highly-rated fighters―with Madrimov, in particular, still bearing the distinction of being a former world champion.
Another appetizer on the card might just be another heavyweight bout; with British prospect Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KO’s) set to step up against Australian contender Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KO’s). Itauma, 19, made his debut in 2023 and has already found himself rated as the #6 contender on the WBO’s rankings.
McKean, in comparison, is best known for his August 2023 challenge against Croatian former IBF interim champion Filip Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KO’s) but has not fought since being stopped by Hrgovic in the last round of their 12-round bout. As such, McKean appears to be the perfect challenge for Itauma to truly gauge his talent and potential, with McKean’s experience as a heavyweight outweighing Itauma’s by twice as many fights.
The third heavyweight bout set to be featured on the December 21st card will feature British heavyweights Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KO’s)―who is coming off a significant 1st-round knockout (KO) win over Croatian contender Alen Babic (12-2, 11 KO’s―and 32-year old veteran David Allen (23-6-2, 18 KO’s) in a bout where youth [given Fisher’s 25 years of age] and budding potential will meet experience.
In the lower divisions, another British vs. British bout is set to transpire as featherweights (126 lbs) Isaac Lowe (25-2-3, 8 KO’s) and Lee McGregor (14-1-1, 11 KO’s) are poised to meet in the ring. A similar domestic―and arguably more significant―battle will also take place at super bantamweight (122 lbs) where the battle between English contender Dennis McCann (16-0-1, 8 KO’s) and Scottish starlet Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KO’s) is set to determine the best British 122-pounder of the world.
The show, which will be sponsored by Riyadh Season, will feature an array of prevalent promotions including Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions.
