The boxing challenge will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main event will feature the three titles in the heavyweight division that Oleksandr Usyk was allowed to keep after his split decision win over Tyson Fury earlier this year.
Usyk held the WBA, IBF, and WBO crowns and added the WBC held by Fury with the victory but the IBF stripped Usyk about thirty seconds after the win for taking the lucrative Fury rematch rather than face Daniel DuBois, who Usyk knocked out in 2023.
Fury dominated the early rounds but was fortunate to survive the eighth round after Usyk knocked him down and had Fury staggering around the ring.
Usyk controlled the late rounds and deserved the decision but it was close enough to make a rematch intriguing.
Fury was thought to be the harder puncher of the two, yet it was Usyk who scored the fight's only knockdown. Fury never really used his larger bulk to try to wear down the naturally smaller fighter, so one can see how Fury could turn the tables and win the rematch, much as he did against Deontay Wilder in their second fight after a first-fight draw.
Still, I'd favor the more versatile Usyk against Fury, who may have been a little overrated as a boxer because he outboxed opponents who couldn't cope with Fury's skills but might have been outboxed by many top heavyweights.
The undercard isn't as dazzling as the usual cards from Riyadh Season with the co-feature a junior middleweight bout between Serhii Bohachuk and late replacement Ishmael Davis in which the winner will be the mandatory challenger for WBC champion Sebastian Fundora.
Bohachuk was originally scheduled to face former WBA champion Israil Madrimov but Madrimove dropped out when given a chance to face Vergil Ortiz in February.
Bohachuk lost a majority decision to Ortiz in his last fight despite dropping Ortiz twice in the match and a fight with Madrimov was highly anticipated but instead faces Davis, who lost his first fight in September to Josh Kelly by majority decision.
The remaining challenge bout is in the heavyweight division with talented prospect Moses Itauma battling Demsey Mckean in a ten-rounder.
Itauma won impressively in his last fight, stopping trialhorse Mariusz Wach in two rounds, and is thought of by many as the best prospect in the division.
McKean hasn't fought in sixteen months after losing for the first time in his career, being stopped by Filip Hrgovic in the twelfth round.
Boxing Challenge
TRS: Usyk Unanimous Decision
TRS: Itauma KO 3
V.S: McKean KO 6
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