The rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and former WBA champion Dmitry Bivol has a date and an undercard -- and it is stacked. Beterbiev will look to pick up a second win over Bivol on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh announced on Monday.
Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) took a mildly controversial majority decision over Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) in their highly anticipated fight to crown an undisputed champion in October. The result of the fight was questionable enough, though not an outright robbery, that it seemed clear a rematch would take place even without a standard rematch clause on the contract. Alalshikh, the man behind making the fight, also immediately expressed interest in making the rematch happen.
While a rematch between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world is already worth tuning in to see, the rest of the card features big names and plenty of title fights.
Alalshikh also posted to X that he would ensure the card was priced no higher than $25.99 in the United States.
Here's a rundown of the card, as announced by Alalshikh on Monday evening.
- Daniel Dubois (c) vs. Joseph Parker, IBF heavyweight championship: Dubois finally became world champion as a result of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury pursuing a rematch after Usyk won their first bout to become undisputed heavyweight champion. The IBF stripped Usyk for not fighting a mandatory challenger and elevated Dubois from interim to world champion. Dubois then scored the biggest win of his career, defending his title with a fifth-round stoppage of Anthony Joshua in September. When Joshua backed out of a contractually-mandated rematch, the door was opened for Parker to step in. Parker is on a tremendous run, including upset wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in his two most recent fights.
- Shakur Stevenson (c) vs. Floyd Schofield, WBC lightweight championship: Stevenson is one of the most talented young fighters in the sport but has drawn criticism for some safe, uninspiring performances against overmatched opponents. He was supposed to face Joe Cordina in October before undergoing hand surgery. A fight with William Zepeda was then lined up only for Zepeda to pull out due to his own hand injury. Now, Stevenson faces Schofield, a young American prospect who defeated Rene Tellez Giron by decision in November but suffered a knockdown in the win.
- Carlos Adames (c) vs. Hamzah Sheeraz, WBC middleweight championship: Sheeraz is an undefeated rising star out of England who stands a towering 6-foot-3 and is riding a streak of 15 consecutive stoppages, but he is taking a big step up in competition against Adames. Adames won the interim title in 2022 and was finally elevated to full champion in May. He successfully defended his title for a first time with a decision over Terrell Gausha in June.
- Vergil Ortiz (ic) vs. Israil Madrimov, interim WBC junior middleweight championship: Ortiz is one of the brightest young stars in the sport and is coming off his toughest fight to date, suffering a pair of knockdowns against Serhii Bohachuk before rallying for a majority decision win. That fight was also the first time Ortiz had gone to the judges scorecards. Madrimov won the WBA title in just his 11th professional fight but dropped it in his next outing, a competitive decision loss to elite pound-for-pound fighter Terence Crawford. Madrimov has to beat Bohachuk on Dec. 21 to lock up the fight with Ortiz and promoters have said there is a contingency plan in place should Madrimov lose that bout.
- Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel, vacant interim WBC heavyweight championship: Zhang rebounded from his loss to Parker with a crushing knockout of Wilder in June, keeping himself in the running for a future world title shot. Kabayel broke through to the world stage with an upset win over previously undefeated Arslanbek Makhmudov this past December and then another upset win over Frank Sanchez in May, both by stoppage. Now 25-0, Kabayel will find himself in the toughest fight of his career.
- Joshua Buatsi (ic) vs. Callum Smith, interim WBO light heavyweight championship: Buatsi won the WBO interim belt with a split decision win over Willy Hutchinson in September to run his record to 19-0. Smith suffered a January stoppage loss to Beterbiev but defeated Carlos Galvan to get back in the win column in November. The winner is positioned for a potential title shot against the winner of Bivol vs. Beterbiev.