Honorable Turki Alalshikh reports that the pay-per-view for the February 22 Riyadh Season card is $19.99 in the UK and $25.99 in the US “and worldwide.” That’s an impressive total of six fights announced today on the card
PPV sales
All five bouts on the card may headline their respective cards, and, surprisingly, these bouts are listed below. The main event of the February 22 card is a rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and former WBA champion Dmitry Bivol. The combination of the PPV price and the big fights on the card make it attractive. I don’t remember seeing a card stacked in years.
There were complaints from fans and the promoter of Bivol, Eddie Hearn, about the result of the first fight with Beterbiev on October 12. Therefore, there will be a rematch to solve it.
Bivol looked like he didn’t want to be there after the seventh round and was in survival mode. He deserves to lose 100%, and Beterbiev will make sure that Bivol fans have nothing to gain after that.
The undercard features two standout fights that fans will be talking about during the build-up. They are as follows:
- Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israel Madrimov
The Ortiz Jr.-Madrimov fight is short because it requires Madrimov to get through his Dec. 21 bout against Serghii Bohachuk without a loss or injury. Promoter Tom Loeffler sees it as “bad karma” that Madrimov is scheduled to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22 when he had a tough fight with Bohachuk this month.
“Bad Karma to post this. Bohachuk has a KO rate of over 90%, taking down Vergil twice. He will fight KO with Madrimov on December 21, so no more funny business with the judges,” said Tom Loeffler on X.
We will make the PPV price no more than 19.99 GBP in the UK, USA and worldwide no more than 25.99 USD 🔥🥊 (We want the fans to be happy and enjoy it…Let’s make boxing better 💪🏻) pic.twitter.com/Y2SqdJqENb
– TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) December 3, 2024
No Gimmes
“He has deep pockets, and they pay a lot of money for fights,” said analyst Ade Aladipo speaking to talkSport Boxing about the Honorable Turki Alalshikh covering the February 22 card.
“Before, fighters used to say, ‘I don’t do that fight because I don’t earn enough. They probably can’t refuse these wars now. It is much more than what they are used to being paid. In addition, you have broadcasters and influencers who are currently working with each other.
“This would not have been possible to put this card together without deep pockets. All the big, important battles. No gimmes. Most fights on the bottom of the card are 50-50.
Before Turki Alalahikh entered boxing, most of the fight cards of the last five years were bad and getting worse. For fans who remembered the fun cards of the 1980s and 1990s, they were disappointed with this game.
Many fans had stopped following boxing because of the unfairness, which was filled with tension put together by promoters with the aim of selling a bad product. That’s still a work in progress, obviously, but at least there’s Turki, who puts together great battles.
“The first fight will probably be Zhilei Zhang against Agit Kabayel. He’s talking about the top two heavyweights and the top six. That’s usually six or eight rounds,” Ade said of the February 22 card.
“No, it should be Beterbiev against Bivol. You’re talking about two of the best light heavyweights of all time. The first fight was very good. All the belts, every belt in the division,” said Ade when asked if the fight between Daniel Dubois vs. Should Joseph Parker headline the February 22 card?
“Dubois’ rise over the past year has been phenomenal. It will be a great partnership event, but he also knows that the two best in the world have to go first. Beterbiev is pound for pound #5. Episode #6. These are two very good ones. They must go first,” said Ade.
