It will now be Riyadh Season in the States. It was formally announced on Wednesday that the same group that has staged major card in Saudi Arabia, will be landing at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on August 3rd with a card that will be headlined by Terence Crawford. He will be making his junior middleweight debut versus WBA belt-holder Israil Madrimov.
Turki Alalshikh, as Neil Diamond would say: is coming to America.
The word is that it won't be the last time. They plan to branch out their promotions to other parts of the U.S and worldwide. The Saudi's are coming, the Saudi's are coming!!
And they are coming out swinging with this particular show. Crawford, who left the welterweight division as the undisputed champion, is jumping right into the fray at 154, by facing Madrimov (who is rated third at junior middleweight by Ring Magazine). This is a high quality main event despite the relative anonymity of the defending champion.
Mike Coppinger of ESPN reported on Tuesday that a clash between Tim Tszyu and Vergil Ortiz is also in the works for this night. Tszyu, who just recently lost a bloody battle against Sebastian Fundora, is still ranked second in the division by Ring, and Ortiz is a highly regarded, undefeated young contender.
Matchroom Boxing
Then a heavyweight battle of the bulge between Andy Ruiz -- remember him? -- and Jarrell Miller will take place. Isaac Cruz, who decimated Rollie Romero on March 30, is paired against Jose Valenzuela. Rounding out the bill will be talented Cuban prospect, Andy Cruz, and the dangerous David Morrell.
By any standard, this is a high quality card from top-to-bottom. Something that has become rarer and rarer in modern day boxing.
There is a new game in town.
FRESNO
This Saturday in Fresno, California, Golden Boy Promotions is staging a card at the Save Mart Arena that is co-headlined by former unified junior welterweight champion, Jose Ramirez, and the aforementioned, Ortiz.
Ramirez is facing Rances Barthelemy, who if he still has his legs could be a bit difficult. But keep this in mind, 'Kid Blast' is 38 years old, and has not fought since last May, when he struggled to eke past Omar Juarez in a 10 round majority decision. It will be interesting to see how Ramirez looks. He has also been inactive. Ramirez last fought in March of 2023, where he halted the shopworn Richard Commey in 11 rounds.
GBP
As for Ortiz, well, I can't lie, I don't even care that he's paired with Thomas Dulorme (who has not seen live action since 2022) since he could be facing 'Mexican Zoo' in the summer. At this point, just don't get cut, or do anything stupid in there.
This card will be broadcast on DAZN, and will also feature unified female flyweight champion, Marlen Esparza.
3KR
Here is this weeks '3 Knockdown Rule' with Mario Lopez and I. We go in-depth into Ryan Garcia's victory over Devin Haney:
THE 3 KNOCKDOWN RULE EPISODE 42 | KING RY!
And click on the Linktree to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform:
3knockdownrule - Listen on YouTube, Spotify - Linktree
FINAL FLURRIES
Matchroom Boxing won the purse bid for the bout between Jaron 'Boots' Ennis and Cody Crowley for the IBF welterweigh title with an offering of $3.9 million. Word is that this fight will take place in July in Philadelphia....Anyone see the Instagram Live clash between Bill Haney and Floyd Mayweather?....The highly regarded jr. bantamweight hopeful, Steven Navarro, has signed a promotional deal with Top Rank...'Shogun' on FX was very high quality television... I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com...
