10 Rounds From Riyadh: Previewing the Star-Studded ‘Day of Reckoning’

Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder headline a stacked card for the Saudi Arabian pay-per-view event.

Ten Rounds from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where a Day of Reckoning is coming, or at least that’s what the Saudis have branded Saturday’s all-star fight card...

10. The scene is a little surreal.

Not since the early days of Don King has there been a card with this much talent and even King’s 1990’s pay-per-view didn’t have this kind of star power. Anthony Joshua is sharing the dais with Deontay Wilder, who is a few chairs down from Jarrell Miller, who is sitting in front of Filip Hrgovic, who is alongside Dmitry Bivol. It’s crazy.

Unfortunately, none of the top-tier fighters will face each other, though they are all in good fights. Joshua will face Otto Wallin, whose only loss was a competitive fight against Tyson Fury. Wilder will face former titleholder Joseph Parker. Miller is in the most compelling fight of the night, a coin-flip showdown with ex-title challenger Daniel Dubois. It’s an eight-fight card that could take as long as eight hours to complete.

Joshua prepares to face Wallin, with Saturday marking his third fight in Saudi Arabia.  :: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

9. Yes, Joshua–Wilder is coming.

If Joshua and Wilder win Saturday, plans are indeed in place for the two to finally meet in March, as multiple outlets have reported. Saudi officials are keen on staging that fight, which won’t be for a heavyweight title—all four belts are on the line in February when Fury and Oleksandr Usyk square off in (you guessed it) Saudi Arabia—but it’s easily the most marketable fight out there.

For his part, Joshua has deflected most questions about Wilder. Wilder, however, has used his media interviews to needle the ex-unified champion, questioning his mindset, suggesting Joshua has been avoiding him (inaccurate, by the way—in 2019 Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, offered Wilder $100 million to face Joshua in a two-fight deal) and making it clear he’s not convinced Joshua will do what’s needed to get there.

“I had a lot of media today asking me about his behavior,” Wilder said. “I said y’all putting a lot of pressure on him. He’s got to focus on Otto Wallin, because Otto Wallin 100% is focused on him.”

8. Dmitry Bivol–Artur Beterbiev could be coming, too.

While not as far along as Joshua–Wilder, I’m getting strong indications that a long-anticipated title unification clash between light heavyweight titleholders Bivol and Beterbiev is on the Saudi’s radar, too. Bivol, Sports Illustrated’s 2022 Fighter of the Year, will defend his title against Lyndon Arthur Saturday. A few weeks later, Beterbiev will defend his belts against Callum Smith. If Bivol and Beterbiev win, both sides expect a unification fight in the first half of ’24.

“A hundred percent,” says Hearn, who co-promotes Bivol. “When we did our deal with Dmitry [Bivol] and Saudi Arabia, His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] had the vision. He wants that fight, he wants the undisputed fight and we’ve agreed to it, in essence. I can’t speak on behalf of Beterbiev and I truly believe Callum Smith will win that fight by knockout on January 13th. But that is a hundred percent the vision for that fight.”

Saturday’s fight is Bivol’s first time in the ring this year after a banner 2022 :: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

7. It’s great to see Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney pushing for a fight on social media this week.

Garcia and Haney’s history dates back to the amateurs, where they split six fights—but count me among the skeptical that it happens next. Both fighters will want huge guarantees for that fight and I’m not sure DAZN—or anyone—is going to be willing to put it up. At least not yet. My bet is Garcia continues to pursue a fight with 140-pound titleholder Rolando Romero, while Haney tests the waters at 147 pounds for his next fight.

I put the question to Hearn, who promoted Haney’s win over Regis Prograis.

“It's really realistic,” says Hearn. “Ryan [Garcia] reached out to me just to tell me, ‘I want you to know I want this fight.’ And I really believe him. Since that conversation, I’ve spoken to Oscar De La Hoya [Garcia’s promoter], I’ve spoken to Eric Gomez, everybody’s up for that fight. Devin [Haney] touches down in Saudi Arabia today we’re going to talk and we’re going to present an offer after our conversations with DAZN to Devin Haney and Oscar will present an offer to Ryan Garcia. I think there’s a great chance to see that fight in April/May. It’s a brilliant fight. And another mega fight for boxing I think is really possible.”

6. Any problems Jarrell Miller has encountered have been entirely the fault of Jarrell Miller.

He tested positive for multiple banned substances before a scheduled fight with Joshua in 2019 and popped hot again in ’20, resulting in a nearly four-year absence from the ring.

Still, Miller’s presence in Riyadh this week offered a reminder of why he became a player in the heavyweight division. Miller has dominated the pre-fight press events, verbally sparring with Joshua, Hearn and Dubois, who Miller has branded a quitter following knockout losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk.

“Man, we're going to put this guy in a coffin, man,” says Miller. “You're talking about a guy that's not mentally all there, you know what I mean? And then he's never been in the ring with somebody like me. I'm really going to f--- him up. I'm just a guy that is built different. I'm athletic as s---, especially when the occasion makes me wake up. I’m going to be moving on him, we’re going to stick him with some good shots and then run him over.”

There are people who don’t believe Miller deserves another shot. Fine. Understandable, really. But the reality is if Miller wins Saturday, he will get one. Miller says he would like to fight in the United Kingdom next, naming Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora as potential opponents. Down the line, he wants a crack at Joshua.

“It’s still right there,” says Miller. “But AJ’s got a s--- ton of losses now. And his mindset is just totally different. He’s talking about, he’s on a different level. Man, this is boxing, bro. Yeah, your bank account might be heavy. But he’s talking all that shit, bro. He’s trying to make an excuse when guys are afraid to lose or somebody that’s in front of his face like I am. He wants to make an excuse up and bring up old s---. It is what it is. This is a boxing game. Either you are going to put up or shut up. If you feel like you’re not ready to compete with the big boys, then retire.”

Miller continues to make headlines ahead of his fight with Dubois :: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

5. Naoya Inoue will attempt to become a two-time undisputed champion.

The 30-year-old takes on Marlon Tapales Tuesday, with all the 122-pound titles on the line. But a bigger fight for Inoue could be a few divisions beneath him. After defeating Sunny Edwards last week, Bam Rodriguez declared his intention to move back up to 115 pounds. Rodriguez’s team believes a jump to 118 pounds could come soon after. That could leave just four pounds between Inoue and Rodriguez, which could set up a massive showdown between the two pound-for-pound talents before the end of next year.

I asked Hearn about the chances of seeing Rodriguez face Inoue as early as next year.

“I feel like at the moment Bam [Rodriguez] is heavily handicapped in that fight,” says Hearn. “Because it is one thing moving up the divisions to fight a world champion in those weight classes, It’s another thing doing it to fight arguably the pound-for-pound number one. You know what I mean? So the disadvantages that Bam will have going up to super bantamweight. We don’t mind against a good world champion, but against a pound-for-pound number one, it’s a very, very risky fight. So for now, slight fantasy, but we like to make fantasies come true.”

4. The IBF stripping cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia days before his fight against Ellis Zorro is embarrassing.

Yes, sanctioning bodies need to enforce mandatories. But according to Opetaia, Mairis Briedis, his mandatory, agreed to step aside while Briedis recovered from an injury. And Opetaia wasn’t going to wait and pass up a career-high payday to fight Zorro. The IBF is a stickler for rules but where were they the last few years when Bakhram Murtazaliev was taking step-aside fees and alternate fights to allow Jermell Charlo to unify? Something just doesn’t add up.

3 . A really powerful act by Gervonta Davis.

The star boxer is purchasing nine properties in his old neighborhood in West Baltimore with an eye towards renovating them to create affordable housing. At an event to announce the purchase, Davis said he believes the key to rebuilding the Baltimore area is to invest in youth. Eventually, Davis hopes to build recreation centers in the neighborhood. “I feel as though when I was coming up, we didn’t have somebody to be hands-on with us,” said Davis.

2. Paging, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, who is way too talented to be fighting this infrequently.

Ennis, now a full 147-pound titleholder after the IBF stripped Terence Crawford, has not fought since last July and has been in the ring just three times in the last two years, with no fight scheduled for 2024. At 26, Ennis is a pound-for-pound level talent. He needs to be more active. A lot more active.

1. It should go without saying, but let’s say it: What Jermell Charlo has been accused of is despicable.

According to ESPN, Charlo was arrested last Saturday and charged with misdemeanor assault, causing bodily injury to a family member. While the survivor was not named, Charlo’s wife, Chyane Westbrook, has filed for a temporary restraining order along with a divorce. Charlo has not fought since losing a one-sided decision to Canelo Álvarez in September, and, with the seriousness of these still-developing allegations, it’s unlikely he will fight anytime soon. Amazon, which recently signed a multiyear agreement with Charlo’s promoter, Premier Boxing Champions, will likely not want any involvement with Charlo as long as this is hanging over him.