The event will also feature champions, top contenders and rising stars competing on the undercard. The co-main event will have former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) meeting Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KOs), who stepped in on short notice once IBF champion Daniel Dubois was ruled out of the contest with illness. Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KOs) will also put his WBC lightweight title up against Josh Padley (15-0, 4 KOs), another late replacement, once Floyd Schofield was forced to withdraw due to illness. Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) squares off with Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) the WBC Middleweight title.

The final faceoff between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol was about as unremarkable Friday afternoon as all of their other promotional meetings leading up to their immediate rematch. Most important, of course, was that Beterbiev and Bivol came in at or below the light heavyweight limit for their second 12-round, 175-pound title fight Saturday night at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev, 40, stepped on the British Boxing Board of Control’s scale at exactly 175 pounds, almost a full pound more than the 34-year-old Bivol, who officially weighed 174.1.

DAN Azeez is hardly inconspicuous. He's got a cheeky grin on his face, months removed from a 12-round majority decision defeat by Lewis Edmondson and now the 35-year-old patiently plots a resurgence in 2025 after losing titles and leverage over the past year.

Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) and Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs) will square off for the WBC Middleweight title. Additional bouts to look forward to include Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) clashing with Israil Madrimov (10-1, 7 KOs) for the WBC interim super welterweight title and Zhilei Zhang (27-2, 22 KOs) meeting Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KOs) for the WBC interim heavyweight title. British stars Joshua Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) and Callum Smith (30-2, 22 KOs) are going to battle it out for the interim WBO light heavyweight title. The preliminary card will showcase local talent with Ziyad Almaayouf (6-0-1, 1 KO) taking on Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-20, 5 KOs) in a welterweight bout and super featherweight Mohammed Alakel (2-0, 0 KOs) meets Engel Gomez (8-42, 4 KOs) in six round bouts.

“Respectful. Technical. Decent.” former WBA and Ring Magazine super middleweight champion, Callum Smith, told Boxxer with laugh when asked to describe Joshua Buatsi in three words.

Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi will square off in a meaningful WBO interim light heavyweight title matchup on February 22 in Saudi Arabia on the same card headlined by the undisputed light heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

The next month promises to be an interesting and likely exciting time for the light heavyweight division. Former two-time world title challenger Anthony Yarde (26-3, 24 knockouts), rated at No. 4 by The Ring at light heavyweight, will be an interesting bystander.

Liam Smith believes that his brother Callum is primed to remind people exactly what he is capable of, when he meets WBO Interim light-heavyweight world champion Joshua Buatsi on February 22. The all-British showdown takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will form part of the lengthy, quality undercard supporting the rematch between undisputed and Ring light-heavyweight titleholder Arthur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Joshua Buatsi, 19-0 (13 KOs), and Callum Smith, 30-2 (22 KOs), were respectful and focused on the task at hand as they came face to face at the press conference to announce their upcoming light heavyweight fight.

It’s the Last Crescendo. Artur Beterbiev defends his Undisputed World Light Heavyweight World Titles against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in an unmissable rematch, headlining an Riyadh Season extravaganza - live worldwide on DAZN. (photos by Mark Robinson)