A pair of high-profile boxing rematches — Daniel Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua and Matchroom vs. Queensberry — are no longer likely for Saudi Arabia’s first “Riyadh Season” card of 2025 on Feb. 22.
Dubois stunned the sporting world when he dropped Joshua four times en route to a fifth-round knockout at Wembley Stadium in September to successfully defend his IBF world heavyweight title. An immediate rematch was expected, but Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren confirmed to iFL TV on Monday that, excluding any dramatic turnarounds, the Brits will not be sharing the ring again in early 2025.
“Unless [Joshua] came back to us in the next 48 hours and said it’s on, yes.” Warren responded when asked if the Dubois vs. Joshua rematch was “completely dead in the water for February.”
“I was told that [Joshua] had — or he has — an injury, so if he’s got an injury, he can’t fight.”
Dubois will still defend his IBF championship on the Feb. 22 show in Riyadh against a different opponent. “There’s a couple of opportunities,” Warren said. “A quite interesting one came up late last week, and we’re looking at and considering that, and we’ll make a decision fairly soon.”
Warren represents at least two other fighters in the heavyweight division that would represent compelling opponents for Dubois: Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker.
Queensberry also scored a 10-0 clean sweep against Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom when the rival promotional companies, now both aligned on DAZN, pitted five of their boxers against each other in June. A rematch was targeted for Feb. 22, but that will not happen now either.
“It won’t be a 5 vs. 5, “Warren said of the Riyadh card. “That’s going to be pushed back. But it’s going to be a great card.”
Warren on Monday revealed to talkSPORT’s Michael Benson that his middleweight charge Hamzah Sheeraz will challenge for a version of the world middleweight title on the Feb. 22 event.
Sheeraz is the mandatory challenger for unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly with a Nov. 4 purse bid looming, although the camps did request a seven-day extension at the WBO convention last week. The British middleweight is also the No. 1 contender for WBC king Carlos Adames, and he is rated No. 6 for WBA titlist Erislandy Lara. Any of these fights could be possible for Feb. 22.
In October, Chris Eubank Jr. told Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” that his long-awaited grudge match with Conor Benn could “absolutely” land on the Feb. 22 event. “I would definitely say that is a target date,” Eubank Jr. said. “The cut will be healed up within the next month, so after that, I’m good to go.”
However, Benn’s provisional suspension with UK Anti-Doping is a significant hurdle in the way of a Eubank vs. Benn second-generation clash, and a verdict has yet to be announced from the hearing that supposedly took place at the end of October regarding Benn’s two failed drug tests.
Shakur Stevenson recently stated on social media that he will return to the ring in February. The three-division champion is signed to Matchroom and is expected to defend his WBC lightweight title on the Feb. 22 “Riyadh Season” card against his mandatory challenger William Zepeda, though Zepeda must first get past Tevin Farmer for the WBC interim title on Nov. 16.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez defend their world titles in a dream double-header in Philadelphia this Saturday, and according to Boxing Scene, conversations have taken place to potentially place them on the same card again on Feb. 22 should they emerge victorious on Saturday. An Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. bout has reportedly been discussed between the fighter’s key representatives.
