Riyadh Season has staged a plethora of major boxing events throughout 2024 and November’s card is another that is a must-watch for all true fans of the sport. However, less than two weeks away from fight night, a change has been made to the undercard.
Bournemouth’s WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith will headline the bill as he seeks to upset the odds once again in a unification showdown against WBA title-holder Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
That fight lines up with the theme of the show, being promoted as ‘Latino Night’ – a nod to the six fighters in appearance of Latino heritage, as well as lead promoter of the event and former six-division world champion, Oscar De La Hoya.
One of these Latino participants is Oscar Duarte Jurado (27-2-1), who’s defeat to Ryan Garcia in late 2023 separates a run of twelve knockouts win.
RYAN GARCIA FINISHES DUARTE IN THE EIGHT ROUND 😤 #GarciaDuarte
(via @GoldenBoyBoxing)pic.twitter.com/BJc1qEwNAx
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) December 3, 2023
The Mexican was scheduled to take on 2013 U.S. national amateur champion, Kenneth Sims Jr. (21-2-1), who was hoping to prove that he is capable for challenging for world honours in the super-lightweight division.
Although, it has now been officially confirmed that Sims Jr. has been ruled out of the fight due to an undisclosed injury.
Instead, Duarte will take on former sparring partner and WBA world title challenger, Batyr Akhmedov (10-3), who has stopped his opponent in all but one of his ten career victories.
One of Akhmedov’s three career defeats came at the hands of Sims Jr. – to whom he lost a majority-decision to in a fight of the year candidate, whilst his other losses were controversial ones in world title contests against both Mario Barrios and Alberto Puello.
#OnThisDay in 2023 – Kenneth Sims Jr. defeated Batyr Akhmedov by MD12, improving his record to 20-2-1. Fight of the Year candidate. pic.twitter.com/QRy6n996g4
— 𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔 (@KOJournals) May 13, 2024
Consequently, the record of the Russian contender is a deceptive one and he could easily be an undefeated fighter if he had a bit more luck on his side.
Yet, at 33-years-old, it appears as though Akhmedov may finally have been given the rub of the green as he lands a huge opportunity on a mammoth show in Saudi and could well be involved in the fight that steals the show, as two knockout-artists go head-to-head in a salivating affair on November 16th.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.