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Boxing News: Breaking Ground in Saudi Arabia » August 8, 2023 – Fight News
By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán & WBC President
I have visited Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend a boxing show which was quite extraordinary. I am extremely impressed by the work put together by Skill Challenge Promotions, as they have put together a memorable event. The Middle East Professional Boxing Commission has grown to be a standalone entity fully equipped to supervise world level shows and the people in Saudi Arabia love boxing.
The boxing card was exceptional. For the first time in history, an Arab woman fought in her homeland, there were three amateur fights backing up the Olympic boxing program, six preliminary fights which included local talent, followed by a sensational and dramatic WBC world title fight.
Former two-division world champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack defeated former champion from the Congo Ilunga Makabu by TKO in Round 12, to win the World Boxing Council cruiserweight title. A Cinderella story on its own, Badou Jack is now a three-division world champion (super middle, light heavy, and cruiserweight). Makabu, a true warrior, put a sensational and courageous fight, landing heavy shots in the middle rounds, making the fight dramatic as he seemed to be getting back strong to finish the fight. Badou had to dig deep to hurt Makabu, and finished with a flurry which prompted referee Mark Lyson to stop the fight.
Open scoring was used and both corners received the official scores at the end of round 4 and 8. This is a sensational rule which allows the corners to adjust during the fight, knowing the real scores of what the officials are scoring. Scores at the end of 4 were 38-37 twice and 39-36 as Makabu was knocked down in round 4. At the end of 8, the fight got close – 76-75 twice, 75-76 split in favor of Badou Jack. Jack came back strong to win the ninth, tenth and 11th dropping Makabu again.
Instant Replay was also available, even though there was no need to use such important rule.
In the main event, Englishman Tommy “TNT” Fury, younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, defeated American boxer and YouTube Star Jake Paul by split decision. The 2-year conflict was resolved in 8 entertaining rounds and at the end of the bell, both came to the center of the ring and showed exemplary sportsmanship and fair play.
Jake Paul has lost, and in my opinion, now the pressure is off and he will be able to start his career as a boxer. He took defeat like a man of honor and is now without any doubt a boxer in his own. Tommy Fury came to fight, had a plan and executed very well. Referee Hector Afu was sensational in what turned out to be a difficult match to officiate due to the many holdings and unorthodox actions during the fight.
Jake has been in contact with the World Boxing Council for a long time, beginning with winning a WBC amateur belt several years ago in England.
He has had several professional fights against athletes from other sports personalities, and his last fight was a dominant presentation against Anderson Silva, the former UFC champion who was able to defeat Julio César Chávez Jr.
The criticism of him from the traditional media and boxing fans has been incessant, and this was a great opportunity to validate his status as a boxer by facing Tommy Fury, who by winning will be ranked on the WBC lists.
Saudi Arabia ventured into boxing by already organizing two very important cards: Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Andy Ruiz (2019) and Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch against Joshua himself (2022), two great fights for the boxing heavyweight championship.
How did boxing come to be of interest to Saudi Arabia?
More than 30 years ago, a kid from the royal family, Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, would go to bed early only to wake up at 4 a.m. so he could watch his hero on television: Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson motivated him to follow our sport and The Prince became a great fan, with the dream of one day making the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the capital of the boxing world.
During the press conference, he announced the creation of the promotion company Skill Challenge Entertainment, and his plan to bring fights of global interest to Saudi Arabia on a consistent basis.
A great team has been formed under the leadership of Amer Abdallah with Fadi, Ravi and other leaders.
It has been an unforgettable experience. Prince Khalid opened his home to receive those of us who came to witness this event with a dinner in his garden in which a regional show was put on, with music and traditional dances, where a party was held with Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury, Devin Haney, Shawn Porter, Derek Chisora, Michael Buffer and some more of us who were honored to be present. There were dances, sword rituals with drums and Arabic chants. Children running around the garden, all of them princes of the royal family and a dinner of delicious Arabic food…and desserts!
The weigh-in was held in the gardens of a palace, with a spectacular event, but with the sun beating down on all of us.
All the boxers passed the weigh-in without problems and the boxing show was held in a stadium built exclusively for this great event.
The presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and a large number of personalities was amazing. The great former world champion Deontay Wilder arrived and the atmosphere was impressive. To have Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora in the same room was a rare occasion which made it even more special.
Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud has been instrumental in bringing boxing to this country.
Did you know…?
In the history of boxing, there have been multiple occasions where personalities and athletes from other sports got into the ring.
The great Muhammad Ali fought for 15 rounds against the fighter Antonio Inoki in Japan, who never got up from the canvas kicking Ali, and it resulted in a boring draw.
José Canseco, that Major League Baseball home run hitter, tried boxing and was beaten; Legendary Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Ed “Too Tall” Jones fought six professional fights and retired undefeated. Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke went to fight several times in Japan and sold out many arenas.
It is currently a phenomenon of which we must be very careful, vigilant and attentive, so that an accident does not occur on the ring.
Today’s anecdote
My dad’s dream was to see boxing in the Middle East.
On one occasion he traveled to Lebanon, and after a meeting with the President of that country, Emile Lahoud, an agreement was reached for the possibility of presenting Mike Tyson defending his WBC world championship. Unfortunately, the war began and that dream could not come to fruition.
He was very happy to see Prince Naseem Hamed establishing himself as a great world champion, and he also had a good relation with Amir Khan when he was starting his career, as young Amir promised to one day be a world champion. I am certain that my dear Father is smiling to see the Middle East having boxing and I believe that within 2-3 years the first champion born local will be crowned.
I welcome your feedback at [email protected].
Being an Arab living in Mexico, I’m sure Mauricio was thrilled having a boxing show in Saudi Arabia.
I had no idea he was Arab. I always thought he was Mexican.
I guess women weren’t allowed to be there, but hey if the sowdi money rolls in it’s all good right
Verbatim, the article stated “The boxing card was exceptional. For the first time in history, an Arab woman fought in her homeland,”
Ladyboxer, did you even bother to read the article, or did you decide to come on here to speak your preconceived bias?
Saudi Arabia should’ve had some beheading executions as the co main event. Would have been more entertaining than the main event.
“Jake has been in contact with the World Boxing Council for a long time, beginning with winning a WBC amateur belt several years ago in England.”
– Couldn’t help but notice how Mr. Sillyman was standing next to Paul when the judges scores were read.
– And how he consoled him after the decision loss.
– Lots of partiality on display.
Today, 3/1, from another site regarding the WBC:
“Conor Benn said the World Boxing Council (WBC) did him a “disservice” when it suggested his failed drugs tests were caused by an excessive consumption of eggs after the governing body cleared him of intentional doping last week.”
and
“In my defence to the WBC and the 270-page report provided to them, at no point did I indicate that I failed any VADA tests because of contaminated eggs,” Benn said. “I feel like the WBC statement did a disservice to my defence.”
Good job, WBC….
I see Saudi Arabia, becoming the second capital of boxing behind Vegas. Saudi Arabia is paying big bucks and you can’t deny that.
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In the ever-shifting MMA landscape, ranking the world’s greatest fighters might seem like a fool’s errand, but that’s exactly we’ve set out to do with the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. Here, our esteemed panel sorts out the movers and shakers from every division to provide you with the most definitive list of the best fighters on the planet.
Let’s take a look at the biggest rankings storylines from this past two-month cycle (Aug. 21 – Oct. 24).
(Ed. Note: These rankings are updated as of Nov. 20, 2023.)
Here’s what I wrote about the then-unranked Khamzat Chimaev back in August:
Fear not, Khamzat fans, should he get past Paulo Costa at UFC 294 as expected, you’ll see him snatch a cherry spot in the middleweight rankings. Until then, everyone’s favorite wrecking machine remains in limbo.
Suffice to say, things did not go quite as expected.
The good news is that Chimaev did end up fighting at UFC 294, and in an actual established weight class. The bad news is that it wasn’t against an established middleweight, but rather former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman stepping in on 10 days’ notice.
Chimaev ultimately beat Usman in a fight where he was dominant for the first five minutes and then shaky for the next 10. The result was a majority decision where one judge scored the fight a 28-28 draw, a fair score given that Chimaev had a difficult time mustering up any meaningful offense against Usman in Rounds 2 and 3. If anything, it looked as though Usman was the one building up steam as the bout came to a close, and he later lamented the lack of championship rounds, something he’d understandably grown accustomed to.
Still, a win is a win, and though our panel wasn’t quite ready to rocket him up the charts (one panelist even left him off their ballot completely), Chimaev slots in at No. 10 in his first appearance on our middleweight rankings. This may turn out to be a case of “ranking, shmankings” anyway, because UFC CEO Dana White said in the lead-up that the winner of UFC 294’s co-main event was expected to challenge champion Sean Strickland.
White wasn’t quite as emphatic when asked about that status after the fight, but regardless, Chimaev is well on his way to finally getting the chance to “smesh” someone for a belt.
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It was a fun rivalry while it lasted, wasn’t it?
In an ideal world, Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski’s second meeting would have occurred a little later in their careers, with Makhachev racking up a couple of title defenses against actual lightweights first and Volkanovski continuing his incredible championship run at featherweight. But there’s something neat about these two settling the score in a single calendar year, even if it happened under less-than-ideal circumstances and even if it resulted in Makhachev delivering a brutal head-kick knockout to win the series.
Could Volkanovski have performed better with a full camp? Undoubtedly. Does the best version of Volkanovski beat Makhachev in their rematch? That, we don’t know, but the reality is they’ve met twice in the octagon and twice Makhachev has been the better man. Accept this and move on, is my advice.
That’s what’s best for the lightweight division, with Makhachev hopefully sticking around at 155 pounds to defend against Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje or maybe even past opponent Arman Tsarukyan somewhere down the line. Makhachev has also spoken about moving up to welterweight in the event that Colby Covington takes that title from Leon Edwards, which would undoubtedly intrigue the matchmakers (even if might make a few fans’ eyes roll).
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There was a time when light heavyweight and women’s bantamweight were marquee divisions. I swear this was a thing.
While there may be no hope for women’s 135 (Julianna Peña vs. Raquel Pennington for the vacant title when?), 205 has been sooooo close to being great again. However, injuries to stars Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill led to a calamitous series of events that have left the light heavyweight title in limbo, and though it should find a home soon when Prochazka fights Alex Pereira for a vacant strap at UFC 295 next month, would anyone be shocked if more craziness ensued?
That was certainly the case this past Saturday when Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker met in a pivotal bout that was sure to crown the next challenger for the aforementioned title, but it just couldn’t be that easy. No, the fighters had to deal with a restless ringside physician who was compelled to interject himself into not one, but two fights in Abu Dhabi. In Walker’s case, he saw his night end unceremoniously when the doctor ruled that he was unable to continue after taking an illegal knee from Ankalaev despite Walker’s protests.
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Blame the doctor all you want, but it just feels like this division has been cursed since Prochazka vacated the title last November after suffering a shoulder injury. We’re all praying that his fight with Pereira has a conclusive result, but at this point I’m expecting them to land simultaneous spinning head kicks and both to end up flat on the canvas.
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Check out the complete October rankings update below.
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 3 Ciryl Gane def. No. 10 Serghei Spivac, No. 8 Alexander Volkov def. No. 7 Tai Tuivasa
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic (UFC 295, Nov. 11), No. 6 Jailton Almeida vs. No. 14 Derrick Lewis (UFC Sao Paulo, Nov. 4)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Phil De Fries (5), Alexandr Romanov (2)
(Heavyweight rankings updated Nov. 12 after UFC 295.)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 3 Magomed Anklaev vs. No. 9 Johnny Walker ends in no-contest, No. 12 Anthony Smith def. No. 13 Ryan Spann, No. 15 Volkan Oezdemir def. Bogdan Guskov
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Jiri Prochazka vs. No. 5 Alex Pereira (UFC 295, Nov. 11)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Rob Wilkinson (2), Azamat Murzakanov (1), Khalil Rountree (1), Thiago Santos (1)
(Light heavyweight rankings updated Nov. 12 after UFC 295.)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 9 Sean Strickland def. No. 1 Israel Adesanya, No. 5 Johnny Eblen def. No. 14 Fabian Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev def. No. 2 WW Kamaru Usman
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 11 Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig (UFC Vegas 82, Nov. 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Paul Craig (3), Nassourdine Imavov (3), Ikram Aliskerov (1), Kelvin Gastelum (1), Jack Hermansson (1), Bo Nickal (1), Kamaru Usman (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Khamzat Chimaev def. No. 2 Kamaru Usman (middleweight bout), No. 13 Jack Della Maddalena def. No. 15 (tied) Kevin Holland
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 1 Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington (UFC 296, Dec. 16), No. 4 Shavkat Rakhmonov vs. No. 7 Stephen Thompson (UFC 296, Dec. 16), No. 5 (tied) Yaroslav Amosov vs. No. 15 Jason Jackson (Bellator 301, Nov. 17), No. 8 Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum (UFC Austin, Dec. 2), No. 10 Vicente Luque vs. No. 11 Ian Machado Garry (UFC 296, Dec. 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Sadibou Sy (4), Andrey Koreshkov (1), Neil Magny (1), Magomed Magomedkerimov (1), Michael Page (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Islam Makhachev def. No. 1 FW Alexander Volkanovski, No. 6 Usman Nurmagomedov def. Brent Primus, No. 8 Mateusz Gamrot def. No. 7 Rafael Fiziev, Bobby Green def. No. 11 Grant Dawson
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 12 Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Clay Collard (PFL 10: 2023 Championships, Nov. 24), No. 13 (tied) A.J. McKee vs. Sidney Outlaw (Bellator 301, Nov. 24)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Benoit Saint-Denis (4), Grant Dawson (3), Renato Moicano (3), Drew Dober (2), Matt Frevola (2), Alexander Shabliy (2)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Islam Makhachev def. No. 1 Alexander Volkanovski (lightweight bout), No. 2 Max Holloway def. No. 11 (tied) “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung 26), No. 11 (tied) Giga Chikadze def. Alex Caceres, No. 13 Bryce Mitchell def. No. 15 Dan Ige
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 8 Josh Emmett vs. No. 11 Giga Chikdaze (UFC 296, Dec. 16)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Edson Barboza (3), Lerone Murphy (2), Adam Borics (1), Jonathan Pearce (1), Chihiro Suzuki (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): N/A
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Patchy Mix vs. No. 6 Sergio Pettis (Bellator 301, Nov. 17), No. 10 Rob Font vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (UFC Austin, Dec. 2), No. 13 Raufeon Stots vs. Danny Sabatello (Bellator 301, Nov. 17)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Pedro Munhoz (3), Magomed Magomedov (2), Ricky Simon (2), Juan Archuleta (1), Chris Gutierrez (1)
(Bantamweight rankings updated Nov. 18 after Bellator 301.)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 11 Manel Kape def. Felipe dos Santos, No. 13 Muhammad Mokaev def. No. 14 (tied) Tim Elliott
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 2 Alexandre Pantoja vs. No. 8 Brandon Royval (UFC 296, Dec. 16), No. 4 Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Rob Font vs. (bantamweight bout) (UFC Austin, Dec. 2)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Azamat Kerefov (3), Kairat Akhmetov (2), Azat Maksum (1), Jeff Molina (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): Nora Cornolle def. No. 15 Joselyne Edwards
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 6 Irene Aldana vs. No. 7 Karol Rosa (UFC 296, Dec. 16), No. 11 Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila (UFC Austin, Dec. 2), No. 13 (tied) Lucie Pudilova vs. Ailin Perez (UFC Vegas 82, Nov. 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Tainara Lisboa (5), Serena DeJesus (1), Claire Guthrie (1), Olga Rubin (1), Taneisha Tennant (1), Darya Zheleznyakova (1)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): No. 1 Alexa Grasso vs. No. 2 Valentina Shevchenko ends in a split draw, No. 3 Erin Blanchfield def. No. 4 Taila Santos, No. 5 Manon Fiorot def. No. 5 SW Rose Namajunas, No. 6 Liz Carmouche def. Ilima-Lei Macfarlane, No. 14 Viviane Araujo def. No. 10 Jennifer Maia
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 12 Juliana Velasquez vs. Paula Cristina (Bellator 301, Nov. 17), No. 13 (tied) Amanda Ribas vs. Luana Pinheiro (strawweight bout) (UFC Vegas 82, Nov. 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Casey O’Neill (6), Karine Silva (2)
Recent results for ranked fighters (previous ranking shown): 5 WFLW Manon Fiorot def. No. 5 Rose Namajunas (flyweight bout), No. 10 Marina Rodriguez def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez, No. 15 (tied) Loopy Godinez def. Elise Reed, No. 15 (tied) Xiong Jing Nan def. Nat Jaroonsak (special rules striking match)
Upcoming bouts featuring ranked fighters: No. 5 Jessica Andrade vs. No. 9 Mackenzie Dern (UFC 295, Nov. 11), No. 12 Angela Hill vs. Denise Gomes (UFC Sao Paulo, Nov. 4), No. 13 Tabatha Ricci vs. No. 14 Loopy Godinez (UFC 295, Nov. 11), Amanda Ribas vs. No. 15 Luana Pinheiro (UFC Vegas 82, Nov. 18)
Fighters also receiving votes (number of ballot appearances shown): Karolina Kowalkiewicz (3), Emily Ducote (2), Xiong Jingnan (2), Gillian Robertson (2), Michelle Waterson-Gomez (2)
A refresher on the ground rules:
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