Two all-British boxing super fights are being targeted for Riyadh Season cards in 2025.
On Saturday’s Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard, Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) knocked down Kamil Szeremeta four times before referee John Latham called off the fight in Round 7. Conor Benn (23-0, 14 KOs), who goes before a UK Anti-Doping hearing at the end of October to determine the final judgment regarding his two failed drug tests in 2022, immediately entered the ring and had a heated faceoff with Eubank Jr. in the presence of soccer legend Neymar.
Chris Eubank Sr. and Nigel Benn had two historic fights in the 1990s, with Eubank Sr. stopping Benn to win the world middleweight title in a fight still widely considered to be one of the best in British boxing history. The pair then fought to a draw three years later. Their sons, Benn and Eubank Jr., were supposed to follow in those footsteps for a scheduled 2022 “Born Rivals” fight, however, Benn failed a drug test in the build-up, forcing the British Boxing Board of Control to refuse to sanction the contest.
Turki Alalshikh, who has been responsible for organizing the boxing events that take place under Riyadh Season, confirmed post-fight that he hopes to stage the grudge match between the sons of the British boxing legends in May 2025. “I think it is the time to do it,” Alalshikh told The Stomping Ground.
Benn is still provisionally suspended by UK Anti-Doping, so the staging of Eubank vs. Benn is dependent on the result of his upcoming hearing.
Fans usually aren’t happy with rematches of one-sided contests, however, the Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5 vs. 5 rematch will be heavily anticipated, despite Queensberry’s 10-0 thrashing of Matchroom in June. Alalshikh stated that the second leg of the 5 vs. 5 format is in talks to close Riyadh Season on Feb. 22, 2025, and told Sky Sports that another Queensberry vs. Matchroom fight — the Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) vs. Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) rematch — is his wish to be featured atop the card.
Dubois pulled off a major upset in September when he floored British superstar Joshua on four occasions, with the final knockdown being too brutal for Joshua to get up from.
There have been mixed messages on the contractual status of a rematch, but all parties have expressed an openness to staging a rematch in recent comments by Dubois, Joshua’s camp and Alalshikh.
Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) edged a majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 116-112) win over Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion. Although Beterbiev became the undisputed champion in name, the outcome was anything but decisive, with Pawel Kardyni’s 116-112 scorecard, in particular, becoming the subject of heavy scrutiny.
Alalshikh was also dissatisfied with the result and now hopes to add a rematch to 2025’s boxing slate.
“I don’t think the result is fair, in my opinion,” Alalshikh said as he walked away from ringside. “The two fighters [are] like my brothers, OK? But I think Bivol [won] two rounds more. I don’t know why the result [is] like this, but in my opinion, I will focus and I will try to do the rematch. They deserve it, they deserve it. If they accept, we will do it.”
