Opening the show in Saudi this weekend are four of the biggest contenders in the heavyweight division who are yet to suffer defeat in the paid ranks.

Kicking off the card will be the IBF #1 contender Filip Hrgovic, who will be looking to extend his unbeaten record as a professional to 18-0 against Australia’s Mark De Mori. A mismatch on paper, and probably in reality too.

Hrgovic is poised to fight for the IBF world title once Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fight it out in February, so it is no surprise to see him up against someone who probably won’t give him a stern test, rather than an opponent such as Martin Bakole.

De Mori is best known for his first-round stoppage defeat to David Haye back in 2016 but since then he is on an 11-fight win streak, although the combined record of those 11 opponents is 161-185-2.

Don’t expect this fight to be remotely competitive and, if it is, serious questions will be asked about Hrgovic being next in line for a world title shot.

Following that we see Cuba’s undefeated heavyweight sensation Frank Sanchez face off with Joseph Parker’s former opponent and fellow countryman, Junior Fa.

Ranked #4 in the WBC and WBO, Sanchez’s career hasn’t yet properly taken off due to the quality of opponents he has faced, but when he did outclass the previously unbeaten Eje Ajagba back in October 2021, he failed to build on that momentum. Most recently he stopped the 17-5-2 Scott Alexander in September.

This is a really talented fighter who just hasn’t had the opportunities he deserves.

As for Fa, he was seen as a potential future star of New Zealand boxing but came unstuck back in 2021 when he was outwitted and outclassed by Parker, before suffering a shock first-round loss to Lucas Browne. Those defeats have really pushed him back and it’s going to take something special for him to get the victory over Sanchez on Saturday.

The final fight of the three sees the 18-0 man-mountain that is Arslanbek Makhmudov take on the 23-0 European champion Agit Kabayel in a contest which is unlikely to see the final bell.

Standing at 6’6”, Makhmudov has knocked out 17 of his 18 opponents, cementing his place in the top five of the WBC and WBA rankings.

Big, strong and undoubtedly powerful, the Russian is an intimidating sight and standing in his way here is the German Agit Kabayel.

Unbeaten in 23 fights, his best career win came back in 2017 when he successfully defended his European title against Derek Chisora but since then, he’s just failed to kick on properly and hasn’t boxed outside of Germany since his clash with the Brit.

Makhmudov, in his 18-fight career to date, is yet to have been tested whereas Kabayel has been forced to grind it out a couple of times. The experience is with the German, but the momentum is with Makhmudov, so expect to see his hand raised.