BUD AIMS TO EXTEND UNBEATEN RUN AS RIYADH SEASON LANDS STATESIDE
A perfect night of boxing which, in this day and age, is something of a rarity.
However, this Saturday night we get just that with a domestic 50/50 for British and Commonwealth honours in Barnsley, and then what is undoubtedly the card of the year across the pond in Los Angeles.
We’ll be previewing all the action in chronological order so, as the night unfolds, you can tick each fight off for yourself.
Zak Chelli vs Callum Simpson - British & Commonwealth Super-Middleweight Titles
Kicking off the night is a potential fight of the year candidate in Barnsley as Zak Chelli defends his British & Commonwealth 168lbs titles on away soil against the hard-hitting and undefeated Callum Simpson.
Both fighters come into the contest in a rich vein of form with Chelli bouncing back from his shock defeat to Mark Jeffers with wins over Jordan Grannum and Jack Cullen to claim both titles.
Simpson, meanwhile, has picked up 10 stoppage wins from his 14 professional victories so far and, after going under the radar on the small hall circuit for a vast majority of his career, he’s now seen as a potential future world champion by many. If that’s going to be the case, however, he must get past Chelli on Saturday.
Chelli has shown maturity of late after a reluctance to actually box early on his career. Simpson will do what Simpson does best, which is to apply the pressure and look to land those heavy hooks to the body, creating the openings upstairs.
It’s certainly a stern test for Simpson but don’t be surprised if he goes up a couple more gears to what he has shown previously and becomes the first man to stop the durable Chelli.
Andy Cruz vs Antonio Moran - IBF International Lightweight Title
Over in Los Angeles, Uncle Turki has once again worked his magic with another stellar card as Riyadh Season debuts in the States.
Kicking off the card is Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Andy Cruz who faces the vastly experienced Antonio Moran.
Faultless through three bouts in the paid ranks already, it’s no secret Cruz is looking to be fast-tracked to a world title shot. Considering how good he was as an amateur, and the potential he’s shown as a pro, it’s easy to understand why.
He does face the toughest test of his career on Saturday, though, against the Mexican Moran. Despite suffering six defeats as a pro, Moran has only really lost to elite level opposition such as Arnold Barboza Jr, Jose Pedraza and Jamaine Ortiz, along with the only stoppage loss on his record which came at the hands of Devin Haney.
The Mexican style suits Cruz’s slick counterpunching Cuban approach to a tee, so expect him to look a million dollars once again because, with a win here, he’s bang in contention for a world title shot next.
David Morrell vs Radivoje Kalajdzic - WBA World Light-Heavyweight Title
If you’re unfamiliar with David Morrell, you will soon know all about him. The hard-hitting Cuban southpaw steps up to 175lbs for the first time when he takes on Serbian Radivoje Kalajdzic.
A standout amateur, he became a world champion in just his fifth fight in the paid ranks when stopping Mario Abel Cazares in the first round to pick up the WBA World Super-Middleweight Title.
Since then, he’s picked up five straight stoppages to take his record to 10 wins, nine of which have been secured via stoppage.
On Saturday, he comes up against another relatively unknown name in the shape of Radivoje Kalajdzic. After losing his undefeated record in a closely fought contest against Marcus Browne in 2016, the Serbian has continued to build despite suffering a fifth-round stoppage to light-heavyweight king Artur Beterbiev.
He has, however, won his last five with four of those coming by way of stoppage, ensuring he goes into this fight full of confidence.
Considering we’ve probably not seen Morrell get out of third gear yet, he may need to shift up into fourth to make a statement but if he does, expect to be blown away as this is one talented young man who has the potential to become an all-time great.
Andy Ruiz vs Jarrell Miller
Now to what is, at first glance, something of a random match up, but one that actually makes complete sense.
Former unified world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz returns after an 18-month lay-off to take on the hard-hitting Jarrell Miller.
There’s history of sorts between these two. Miller was set to face Anthony Joshua before testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, which led to Ruiz getting the call to step in, and we all know how that turned out.
Both men now though find themselves at similar stages of their careers. Problems outside of the ring have seen Ruiz fight just twice since losing to Joshua back in December 2019, whilst Miller’s undefeated record was wiped out at the hands of Daniel Dubois last time out. The future looks very bleak for whoever suffers defeat.
Martin Bakole vs Jared Anderson
If you want a guaranteed fight of the year candidate, here it is.
Two fighters who refuse to take a step back. Two fighters who throw every punch like it’s their last and two fighters with dynamite in both hands.
The undefeated Jared Anderson will look to move one step closer to a world title shot when he clashes with the Congolese King in what promises to be an intriguing clash.
After stopping the first 14 opponents of his professional career, all the hype was behind Anderson before a relatively below-par points decision win over Charles Martin, which preceded victories over both Andrii Rudenko and Ryad Merhy.
Bakole, meanwhile, has been dominating that ‘Who needs him?’ club in the heavyweight division.
With just one loss on his 21-fight record, Bakole’s reported sparring antics have taken the internet by storm and the Scottish based heavyweight has started to display some of that under the bright lights with a schooling of Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka before stoppage wins over the Ukrainian Hulk and Carlos Takam.
From the outside, this looks like a good fight for Anderson and a nice little step up. However, many inside boxing believe it could be a case of too much, too soon for the American.
Isaac Cruz vs Jose Valenzuela - WBA World Super-Lightweight Title
The first world title fight on the card sees the newly crowned WBA 140lbs champion Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz take on the 13-2 Jose Valenzuela.
Widely regarded as one of the most entertaining fighters in the super-lightweight division, Cruz won his first world title last time out when dethroning the outspoken Rolly Romero in emphatic fashion with an eighth-round KO, and he’ll be hoping to do similar against the lesser-known Valenzuela on Saturday night.
As with most Pitbull fights, it’s likely be all-action from the first bell and with some mega fights potentially looming, expect a big statement from the Mexican.
Israil Madrimov vs Terence Crawford - WBA World Super-Welterweight Title
Now to the big one.
Three-weight world champion and two-weight undisputed Terence Crawford aims to become a four-weight world champion when he takes on the fairly inexperienced and reigning champion Israil Madrimov.
For a while, it felt as though every world champion between 154 and 168 was rumoured to be a potential target for Crawford before they eventually settled on Madrimov.
Relatively unknown outside of the boxing hardcore, Madrimov was a standout amateur before entering the professional ranks back in 2018.
He picked up his first title in just his second fight when stopping Frank Rojas for the WBA Inter-Continental Super-Welterweight Title.
Since then, bar a technical draw against Michel Soro which was caused by a clash of heads, he’s been faultless while picking up seven stoppage wins from 10 professional contests to date.
With Crawford, his CV speaks volumes. A world champion at lightweight and then an undisputed champion at super-lightweight and welterweight, he lit up the boxing world when stopping long-time foe Errol Spence last July.
Madrimov is a pressure fighter who can box, while Crawford is a counter puncher. With that mix, anything could happen.
With a potential clash against Canelo Alvarez on the horizon, Crawford may well be forgiven for overlooking this fight, although he cannot afford to. Madrimov is an elite-level fighter. He has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, which is a dangerous combination.
If Bud boxes clever and picks his shots, he should be able to outsmart Madrimov, but don’t be surprised to see this one go the distance.
What a Saturday night of boxing in store. Enjoy!
