Saudi Arabia’s conquest of high-level boxing extends to Los Angeles on Saturday when Riyadh Season holds its first event abroad at BMO Stadium with Terence Crawford, one of the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters, headlining the card (ESPN+ PPV, 6 p.m. ET).
Much like previous events in Saudi Arabia that have featured a number of fights good enough to headline a boxing card on their own, Saturday's show in Los Angeles is packed with quality matchups.
Riyadh Season is an annual state-run sporting and entertainment event that attracts sponsorship from some of the region’s biggest companies. Saturday’s card features fighters from several different promotional companies, a rare feat in boxing.
Riyadh's boxing events have also been defined by high-quality production, with legendary hip-hop singer Eminem set to perform during Saturday's event.
One of the promoters who will be involved in the show is Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn, who told ESPN that this is the biggest fight night he has seen in American boxing from start to finish.
“American boxing fans will be blown away. I'm looking forward to an absolute spectacle,” said Hearn. “When we started the Riyadh season, we expected it to take place only in Riyadh between October and March. But the Riyadh season also wants to promote itself around the world and [is] Using these events in Los Angeles and London [on Sep. 21] “To expand the brand and it's great news for fight fans.”
With such a long list of must-see matchups, ESPN breaks down the PPV card and ranks all the fights.
1. Israil Madrimov vs. Terence Crawford: Junior Middleweight Title Fight
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), a three-division champion and undisputed at 140 and 147 pounds, will try to conquer another weight class but will have to defeat a puncher who has been compared to Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, a former middleweight champion and KO specialist.
Crawford, 36, of Omaha, Nebraska, looked sensational in his last fight, when he dropped Errol Spence Jr. three times en route to a ninth-round TKO victory to unify all four major welterweight belts in July 2023.
Crawford, the current WBA and WBO welterweight champion, comes into the fight as the favorite (-800 according to ESPN BET) due to his extensive library of boxing skills and ring IQ, but there is an element of risk for him in this fight. He’s moving up to junior middleweight for the first time and is facing an in-form, powerful puncher who seems quietly immune to the magnitude of the occasion in facing ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound ranked fighter in a first defense of his WBA 154-pound title.
Uzbekistan’s Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) has only had 11 pro fights, but don’t read too much into that. He had a long and distinguished amateur career internationally and is one of many elite Eastern European fighters training in Indio, California. One of those training partners is Dmitry Bivol, the light heavyweight who shocked everyone when he defeated the sport’s biggest star, Canelo Alvarez, in 2022. Can Madrimov do the same? He’s hungry, has been busier than Crawford in recent years (Crawford has had one fight per year since 2020) and looked good in his last outing when he stopped Magomed Kurbanov in five rounds in Riyadh last March.
Much depends on whether Madrimov, 29, can land some of his big shots to unsettle Crawford in the early rounds before he gets into shape. Crawford is a clinical finisher, one of the deadliest in the business, and if he can land two or three punches at a time, he could finish the fight in the later rounds.
2. Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller – Heavyweight
There will be a lot at stake as these two battle to remain relevant in a heavyweight division that could be flush with world title opportunities next year following the undisputed clash between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on December 21.
Ruiz (35-2, 22 KOs) briefly held three titles after defeating Anthony Joshua in 2019, but was out of shape for the rematch six months later. Ruiz, 34, of Imperial, California, has only been seen in the ring twice since then, but insists he has regained his focus and motivation for the sport.
Ruiz weighed 269 pounds in his most recent fight against Luis Ortiz nearly two years ago, which he won by unanimous decision. Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs), 36, of New York, similarly has come into fights heavy. He weighed a staggering 333 pounds in his fight against Daniel Dubois in December, when he lost steam and was stopped in the 10th round.
Ruiz, if he's as focused as he claims to be, should win, but this fight promises drama and knockdowns. It will be fun to watch, but it's a fight neither man can afford to lose.
3. Jared Anderson vs. Martin Bakole – Heavyweight
Anderson has been touted as the future of American heavyweight boxing for a number of years now, and this could be a fight that puts him on the brink of a world title shot.
Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs), 24, of Toledo, Ohio, is ranked in the top five by two of the world’s governing bodies, but Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs) is the No. 1 contender for Usyk’s WBA belt. Bakole, who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo but is based in Scotland, impressively stopped Carlos Takam in his last fight in October 2023.
“It's a great fight, but it's a strange one to make,” Hearn told ESPN. “A lot of people have high expectations for Anderson and if he beats Bakole he'll be in a great position, he'll be a star in the division, but I'm not sure he'll beat him. If Anderson wins, he'll be at the top. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh [the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority]”He's grown fond of Jared Anderson, so he'll be looking to line him up for every big fight in the division, but I think it's a 50-50 fight.”
4. Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz vs. Jose Valenzuela – Junior Welterweight Title Fight
This all-Mexican title fight will see two in-form fighters square off after career-best wins last time out.
Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs), of Mexico City, impressively stopped Rolando “Rolly” Romero in March, while southpaw Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs), of Sinaloa, also shined when he knocked out Chris Colbert in December.
If Cruz, 26, can get past Valenzuela in his first title defense, there are big potential fights for him down the road according to Hearn.
“He's a very exciting fighter,” Hearn, who promotes Cruz, told ESPN. Liam Paro, Subriel Matias, Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, Jack Catterall versus Regis Prograis in August, so there are some huge fights on the cards at 140 pounds and he's definitely one of the exciting guys in that division.
Cruz has struggled with southpaws before (he lost a points decision to Gervonta Davis in 2021 and beat Giovanni Cabrera by split decision a year ago), while Valenzuela is moving up in weight to get his shot.
5. David Morrell vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic: Light Heavyweight Title Fight
David Morrell (10-0, 9 KOs), of Santa Clara, Cuba, and Radivoje Kalajdzic (29-2, 21 KOs), of Belgrade, Serbia, will fight for the vacant WBA “regular” light heavyweight title, with the winner moving closer to a shot at Bivol, the reigning champion. Morrell, who lives in Minneapolis, has been relentless, racking up six knockout victories as the WBA super middleweight champion. This is Morrell’s light heavyweight debut and it will be interesting to see if he can continue his four-year knockout-free streak.
6. Andy Cruz vs. Antonio Moran – Lightweight Fight
Cruz (3-0, 1 KO), of Matanzas, Cuba, is a 2020 Olympic gold medalist. He will face veteran Antonio Moran (30-6-1, 21 KO), of Mexico City, in a 10-round fight. Cruz, 28, has quality and this is a good opportunity to test whether he can go the distance in the professional ranks. For Moran, 31, this is a chance to continue growing after an impressive sixth-round win over Romero Duno in January.
