IF THE card on which Tyson Fury faced Francis Ngannou in October was a statement of intent from the Saudis, this follow-up in the same district of suburban Riyadh tells us that anything goes once their Season is upon us.
As they build towards the proposed March 9 showdown between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, with the two fallen champions featuring in co-main events here, Turki Al-Alshikh and everyone else involved in the promotion would have been forgiven for a modest undercard.
But in the Riyadh Season era, that is clearly not the way, with another big card, described by Frank Warren as “probably the most bumper card in the history of boxing”, constructed in a matter of weeks.
If you remove Wilder and Joshua, who face Joseph Parker and Otto Wallin, respectively, there are a further six fights on the undercard. First, some numbers. Between the 12 fighters involved in those, they boast 270 wins with only seven defeats and three draws.
And, as opposed to Fury-Ngannou, when all but one fight was contested at heavyweight, this time the card brings in the cruiserweight world championship and the WBA light-heavy title, with and both invited to the Kingdom to defend
