Knockout Chaos - Official Interactive Digital Programme

INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST

ANTHONY JOSHUA V FRANCIS NGANNOU

10 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

THE WBO INTERIM WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ZHANG ZHILEI V

JOSEPH PARKER

12 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

THE VACANT WBA INTERNATIONAL LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP GAVIN GWYNNE V

MARK CHAMBERLAIN

10 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST ANDRII NOVYTSKYI V

JUAN TORRES

8 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

THE WBC WORLD FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP REY VARGAS V

NICK BALL

12 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

ELIMINATOR FOR WBC SILVER SUPER-WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP JACK MCGANN V

LOUIS GREENE

10 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

INTERNATIONAL SUPER-LIGHTWEIGHT CONTEST ZIYAD ALMAAYOUF V

CHRISTIAN LOPEZ FLORES

6 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

THE VACANT WBA WORLD SUPER-WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ISRAIL MADRIMOV V

MAGOMED KURBANOV

12 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

THE VACANT WBO GLOBAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP AND WBC SPECIAL EVENT JUSTIS HUNI V

KEVIN LERENA

10 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST ROMAN FURY V

MARTIN SVARC

4 X 3 MINUTE ROUNDS

H.E. TURKI ALALSHIKH

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT AUTHORITY (GEA)

Francis Ngannou has shown everyone just how good he is in a boxing ring. It means anything can happen on Friday night and that is what makes this such an exciting fight.

PROMOTER’S MESSAGE

GOOD EVENING TO everyone and first I must say what a genuine delight it is to be back in Saudi Arabia for a third time as part of this spectacular Riyadh Season.

What has taken place since October 28 of last year through to now has been truly remarkable for the sport of boxing and for this our gratitude goes to H.E. Turki Alalshikh and everybody associated with Riyadh Season.

Working all together, we have delivered events here in Riyadh that were not previously imaginable and boxing is booming as a result of this vision.

Battle of the Baddest, Day of Reckoning and now Knockout Chaos are events that have made the world sit up and take notice, as well as realise what Saudi Arabia - and Riyadh in particular - has to offer as a destination for sporting excellence and tourism in general.

Knockout Chaos is an appropriate title for what we are showcasing tonight because I suspect we might just see a few big KOs!

The main event, Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou is like the Big Bash of boxing. Something will have to give between two giants with so much at stake on the night.

AJ wants to force his way back into the elite band of heavyweights alongside Tyson

Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, while Francis will be looking to write another chapter in his own success story that has taken him from being heavyweight champion of the UFC to coming close to causing the upset of all-time when he ran Tyson very close on the scorecards here at the Kingdom Arena to open Riyadh Season.

Even in ultimate defeat, he shocked the world.

I have stated previously, for AJ, this is a jeopardy fight and the danger signals are flashing from the exploits of Francis against Tyson.

The night of giants continues in the comain event when Zhilei Zhang defends his WBO Interim world heavyweight title against the in-form Joseph Parker.

Big Bang Zhang comes into the fight fresh off of two stoppage victories over The Juggernaut, Joe Joyce, in London where he showed the world just what a force he can become in the heavyweight division.

Joseph, for his part, has become a big beneficiary of the Riyadh Season movement into boxing. He fights for a third time tonight in Riyadh, with his keynote performance coming in December when he upset the odds by defeating Deontay Wilder.

There can be no doubting that whoever wins out of these two is a more than worthy contender for the belts held by Tyson and Oleksandr Usyk.

I urge you all to keep a keen eye on tonight’s featherweight attraction between the WBC world champion Rey Vargas from Mexico and our man Nick Ball, the WBC Silver champion from Liverpool.

There is no question over Vargas being a very fine two-weight world champion, but young Nick, in my view, is something very special and I am confident of a new champion being crowned tonight.

This is Nick’s chance to showcase his talent to the entire world and become a star in his own right.

We have also got, at the special request of H.E. Turki, a lightweight clash between undefeated young contender Mark Chamberlain and the experienced European champion Gavin Gwynne. This fight, believe me, has got all the makings of a classic.

In closing, I would once again like to emphasise what an honour it has been to deliver fight nights on behalf of Riyadh Season and it won’t be too long before we are back at the Kingdom Arena for Ring of Fire, the undisputed showdown on May 18.

‘KNOCKOUT CHAOS’

THE KINGDOM ARENA, BOULEVARD CITY, RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA | FRIDAY 8™ MARCH 2024

BBBofC OFFICIALS

STEWARD-IN-CHARGE

MR ROBYN SMITH (Harrogate, England)

GENERAL SECRETARY/HEAD OFFICE

MR ROBERT SMITH (Cardiff, Wales)

REFEREES:

MR HOWARD FOSTER (Doncaster, England)

MR MICHAEL ALEXANDER (Doncaster, England)

MR STEVE GRAY (Fleetwood, England)

MR VICTOR LOUGHLIN (Paisley, Scotland)

MR KIERAN MCCANN (Harrow, England)

TIMEKEEPER

MR JOE BRANNAN (Glasgow, Scotland)

MR STEWART LITHGO (Cleveland, England)

INSPECTORS

MR ALI ISHFAQ (Peterbourough, England)

MR PETER WICKS (Yorkshire, England)

MR TERRY WHITEHOUSE (Branston, England)

MR BARRY COULSON (Bury, England)

MR JULIAN COURTNEY (Swansea, Wales)

MR KENNY BASHFORD (Staffordshire, England)

MR AARON SCREEN (Newport, England)

MR JOSE MOHAN (Dubai, UAE)

MICHAEL HAYEL (Dubai, UAE)

MEDICAL OFFICERS

DR NEIL SCOTT (Cardiff, Wales)

DR IAN WHITE (Woking, England)

DR SANOOJ SONI (Wraybury, England)

RING ANNOUNCERS

MR MICHAEL BUFFER (Los Angeles, California, USA)

MR THOMAS TRIEBER (San Antonio, Texas, USA)

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THE BOXING JOURNEY of Anthony Joshua has been frequently punctuated with glory, but also sporadically injected with trauma, so he knows better than anyone why a once-unlikely collision with MMA giant Francis Ngannou represents a chapter in his story that must reach a positive conclusion.

It cannot be argued that the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight champion has ever ventured down Easy Street. He has met challenges head on and has never sought to navigate a route around the heavyweight division’s more perilous corners.

This is perhaps why the initial suggestion of sharing a ring with Ngannou was met with indifference by the former unified world champion. All he wanted to do was increase his activity and then set about reclaiming some, or ultimately all, of his lost property.

However, the landscape shifted dramatically here in Riyadh back in October when the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ nearly brought about one of the most seismic shocks in sporting history.

Ngannou, in just his first professional fight, grounded Tyson Fury - the No.1 heavyweight in the world - and was considered unfortunate, in many quarters, not to have his hand raised when the scorecards were eventually read out.

The threat posed by Ngannou had been validated and even the biggest critics of a novice pro taking on the heavyweight champion were forced to concede they had got it wrong.

Was it beginner’s luck? We are about to find out, but the focus of the 34-year-old AJ will simply be trained on getting the job done and not becoming a victim of Ngannou’s meteoric rise as a practitioner of the Noble Art.

“Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything,” explained the Watford-born Joshua. “My soul, my spirit, my mind, my body and we will see where it leads me, but now I am not thinking of no championship belts or anything.

“My main focus is Francis and an intense training camp, because how I train is how I fight. If I have victory in

my training camp I am sure I will have victory on the night.

“Right now we put the belts on hold and just look to get through the fight successfully.”

Preparations for December’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ challenge against Otto Wallin took Joshua in the direction of British trainer Ben Davison, who has previously mentored Tyson Fury and coached a host of elite young talent from his fighting hub in Harlow.

Joshua has previously sought out the celebrated American trainer Derek James and his changing up of coaching teams has created debate in media circles.

The man himself reveals, quite simply, that it is all about chasing greatness.

“It is really good working with him (Ben) and the whole team at the Academy. I still speak to Derek in the States, but being home and having someone just as good is right. I am just searching for greatness, really, continuously searching for greatness.

“How I can elevate myself and push forward in every aspect of my game.

“This is just another challenge and during these challenges I find out such a lot about myself. Even though I already know who I am, I know I am going to discover some new things about myself.

“Things that can take me to higher heights,” added the man who became IBF champion back in April 2016.

He now, according to a number of sages of the sport, will benefit from Fury’s previous experience in that himself and his team now possess a 10-round body of evidence to work off from Ngannou’s fight footage against the WBC champ.

Joshua does not dispute this, but insists there is more to it and a bigger picture is in play.

“I won’t say too much, but it is just

his mind that is different to everyone because everyone is unique in their own way. In terms of the frame and makeup of someone, he’s seen people like me and I’ve seen people like him. It is just his mind I will have to conquer in the ring.

“You have to take someone’s spirit and I am looking forward to the challenge, for sure.

“That’s it really, it is going to be good, it is going to be explosive.

“There are many ways to skin a cat. He can counterpunch, I can counterpunch, we can box as he has proven, we can both trade and it is going to be a good, good fight.

“Shoutout to His Excellency and my team for getting me in the position to showcase why I am the best heavy-

weight in the UK.

“I am not too concerned about the world, I am trying to conquer where I live and make everyone know that I am the one who puts boxing on the map.”

One suggestion Joshua was quick to rebuff was that he will be looking to out-do Fury in overcoming Ngannou in a more convincing fashion.

“If I’m honest, not at all. I like to hurt people, I really do. If you look at it, every opponent me and Fury have in common I have knocked them out, or stopped them.

“I just do what I need to do and I have never been in competition with him anyway but, if you are talking facts or stats, every common opponent I have ended up breaking their face.”

THE FORMER UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou possesses a professional boxing record that would suggest a future fighting out the away corner.

His inauspicious ledger reads 0-1-0, but those numbers alone do not tell a fraction of his story, which is pure fiction.

To be fighting the WBC and lineal world heavyweight champion on debut is the stuff of fantasy, to start with. Then to add that he knocked over the Gypsy King, Tyson Fury, would be considered outlandish.

But that is exactly what happened.

The great Fury was decked in the third round and subsequently laboured to a disputed decision on the cards of the judges.

Ngannou had announced himself as a heavyweight force to be reckoned with. His record does him absolutely no justice at all.

It is his exploits against Fury that won him an army of admirers to add to the devotees he already counts from his

spell in the UFC.

When the sport of boxing typically disrupted the best laid plans of Anthony Joshua finally getting to trade leather with Deontay Wilder, the name of Ngannou quickly entered the frame when the Riyadh powerbrokers moved to reshuffle the March 8 fistic festivities.

Wilder was outfoxed by Joseph Parker in December’s Day of Reckoning before Joshua fulfilled his part of the bargain against Otto Wallin. Joshua was in need of a new fight partner, which resulted in Ngannou accepting the call to once again light up Riyadh Season.

While the 37-year-old will obviously be seeking to level up his record, his Boxrec page already makes startling reading. Fight one: Undefeated, WBC and lineal world champion. Fight two: Olympic champion and former unified world heavyweight champion.

You couldn’t make it up.

As unlikely as it sounds, Ngannou claims that his jaw-dropping display against Fury will not feature in his thoughts

ahead of taking on his big British rival, other than he clearly wishes to improve on it.

“I am just at the beginning out here,” said the Cameroon-born star. “I will train really hard and do everything to come as the underdog and win the fight.

“I don’t take my last fight as a reference. I think I will get everything done and I know exactly where I am at. I am definitely going to come out better and will get better and better.

“That is how I see things and I have been getting ready for a hard fight.”

Ngannou’s tale of the unexpected against Fury will continue to loom large, no matter how much he wishes to consign it to history. As far as the former UFC hero is concerned, his professional debut is done, in the past.

However, as much as Ngannou might wish to put it on the back burner, the narrative will inevitably continue to centre on Fury and Joshua and the prospect of the Great Brits one day sharing a ring together themselves.

“The Tyson Fury fight was great, it was awesome, but it is now in the past and I have a new challenge in front of me,” he insisted, pointing to the possibility of jumping in with the winner out of Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. “I take it even more seriously now than before because, probably, there is something more on the line like the undisputed.

“Let’s see, maybe I will do something

that nobody has done before. I really believe that I have the tools to do that, starting off with having a win against AJ on March 8 in Riyadh.

“It will be a big fight, not an easy one, but not an impossible one and I’m going to take that.”

Seek and destroy has long been a motto adopted and executed by Ngannou

and he sees no reason to switch up his approach when he goes up against Joshua, a devastating puncher himself.

Ngannou also confesses that he is aware that some experts do question the ability of Joshua to withstand a mighty blow to his whiskers.

“I’m going to fight him, so what do you think I am going to do? It is a fight

and I will look for his chin. That is what happens in fights. Yes I have heard that he doesn’t have a chin, but I don’t know if it is true or not.

“I hope I have the opportunity to test it out. That is what I am wishing for.”

Ngannou trained in boxing at the age of 22 and, four years later, headed to his adopted home of Paris to launch a ca-

reer in the sport. However, his potential in MMA was spotted and he was encouraged to pursue chasing stardom in the octagon, beginning his new journey in November 2013.

His debut in the UFC came two years later and a string of stunning performances and knockouts propelled Ngannou to global prominence before he became UFC Heavyweight Champion

in March 2021 in a rematch against Stipe Miocic, which he won via a second round knockout.

In January 2022 Ngannou defended his title against the Interim champion Ciryl Gane and won the fight via a unanimous decision, which was the first points victory of his career.

THE CHINESE FORCE of nature Zhilei

Zhang is now in his 10th year as a professional following an amateur career that marked him out as a future star.

In April of last year, at Wembley Arena in the capital of England, Big Bang exploded his full force on Juggernaut Joe Joyce and parted the Londoner from his WBO Interim heavyweight world title.

Zhang forced the stoppage of Joyce by referee Howard Foster in sixth round having inflicted severe damage to the the right eye of the previously unbeaten champion.

He repeated the feat and maintained his WBO status with a more spectacular destruction of Joyce in the September rematch, knocking out his fellow Olympic silver medallist in the third round, an outcome that resulted in him voicing the name of Tyson Fury in the aftermath.

The now 40-year-old won bronze medals at the 2007 and 2009 World Cham-

pionships and a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, all in the super heavyweight division. Zhang also featured at the 2012 London Games where his interest was ended at the quarter final stage by a certain Anthony Joshua who, of course, went on to take gold.

Two years later, the big southpaw announced that he would be turning pro and a quickfire debut took place in Fallon, Nevada, where Curtis Tate was dispatched in a matter of 17 seconds.

Zhang then continued to blaze a trail through the heavyweight ranks with a sequence of emphatic victories that took place in the USA or his native China. His first genuine test came in a second defence of his WBO Oriental title in his 20th fight against the redoubtable Ukrainian Andrii Rudenko in Monte Carlo.

The heavyweight gatekeeper was clearly outpointed and Zhang placed his name on the boxing map.

A victory over Devin Vargas followed before his credentials were seriously tested by Jerry Forrest in Miami, with the fight scored a draw. Quick knockouts over Craig Lewis and Scott Alexander were then recorded before Zhang got the call for an IBF final eliminator against the unbeaten Croatian Filip Hrgovic.

Somehow, Hrgovic maintained his unbeaten record against Zhang in Jeddah, despite the older man putting his opponent down in the first round and dominating big chunks of the fight. All three judges scored in favour of the Croatian by a narrow margin.

Which brought Zhang to a successful London mission and we face the prospect of a further shift in the heavyweight landscape when he makes another defence of his belt against Joseph Parker here tonight at the Kingdom Arena.

‘MASTERCLASS’ WAS THE buzzword boomed out by celebrated trainer Andy Lee following his pupil Joseph Parker completely outfoxing Deontay Wilder as part of the Day of Reckoning spectacular staged here in Riyadh in December.

Parker, in most quarters, wasn’t the fancied fighter heading into the co-headline attraction at the Kingdom Arena. Indeed, as it was confirmed afterwards, contracts had been signed for Wilder to finally face Anthony Joshua, probably tonight, if things had played out differently.

But the big New Zealander and his Irish coach were having none of it and inserted their own twist in this gripping heavyweight saga. Pre-booking of future fights rarely works out well in this curious sport of boxing.

The 32-year-old outthought, outworked and outfought the biggest puncher on the planet, while also avoiding the fabled right hand of the Bronze Bomber.

“Listen, I came out with a plan and executed the plan Andy had put in place,” said the former WBO world champion. “Activity was really important and it was good to finish the year off with a win.”

The reference to activity is key. In the

wake of his sole stoppage loss to Joe Joyce in late 2022, Parker made himself busy over the course of 2023, fighting four times including two in Riyadh.

The flip side for Wilder, Parker generously pointed out, was the American had seen less than three minutes of action since his defeat to Tyson Fury in October 2021.

“Inactivity played a big part but, with the plan we had, he wasn’t able to do what he wanted to do.

“Andy said to me before the fight to fight fire with fire. You can’t try and run away from the right hand all the timethat is his plan.

“It would be nice to fight four times again this year and keep the momentum going.”

To this end, Parker is back in the title business and fighting once again for the WBO Interim world title that he also fought Joyce for, which the Olympian subsequently lost - including in a rematch - to tonight’s opponent Zhilei Zhang.

This is Parker going up against yet another mighty puncher, who inflicted a KO finish on Joyce when the pair collided

for a second time in September of last year.

The winner of this fight will occupy the mandatory position with the WBO to face the winner out of the forthcoming undisputed battle between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.

The fighting pride of his homeland, Parker has now featured on the Battle of the Baddest blockbuster, The Day of Reckoning and now he takes his place on Knockout Chaos.

Riyadh has quickly become his destination of choice.

Parker destroyed Simon Kean inside three rounds on the undercard of Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou, fulfilling his desire to remain active and maintain the momentum he has gathered across 2023.

He has always maintained himself as a force in the division and became world champion himself at the end of 2016 when he defeated Andy Ruiz to put his name on the WBO belt. He went on to make a successful defence against Razvan Conjanu before taking his show on the road and, ultimately, defusing the Bomb Squad.

THE REIGN OF Rey Vargas as world champion began, not in the sunnier climes of his native Mexico or bordering USA, but on an ice rink in Hull, situated in East Yorkshire, England.

It was back at the beginning of 2017 when the WBC world super bantamweight title was up for grabs and Vargas went in as the away fighter against Jamie McDonnell, who hails from nearby Doncaster and was far more acclimatised to performing on ice.

Vargas, now 33, had already been on something of a WBC journey, winning a Youth Intercontinental belt at super bantamweight in 2013, along with a Youth Silver title he went on to defend five times.

Early in 2015 he added the WBC International Silver strap to his collection, winning it again in 2016, which took him on his travels to face McDonnell in England.

On the face of it, his performance against the European champion gave

the feeling of a routine victory for the rising Mexican star. However, it was recorded as a contentious majority decision due to the English judge marking the fight 114-114.

Even McDonnell and his team were honest enough to admit this score misrepresented events in the ring.

But the Vargas rule of the division was underway and the super bantamweight treasure was successfully defended on five occasions, against Ronny Rios, Oscar Negrete, Asat Hovhannisyan, Franklin Manzanilla and Tomato Kameda across the following two years.

Vargas had established himself as an elite and unbeaten world champion.

A period of injury and a promotional switch followed, during which time he was made champion-in-recess by the WBC, before returning to the ring and defeating Leonardo Baez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in November 2021.

He then stepped up to featherweight to

take on the champion Mark Magsayo in the Filipino’s first defence of his belt. Vargas triumphed via a 12 round split decision, despite being put down in the ninth.

A potential match with Mexican-American superstar Leo Santa Cruz was then being negotiated, but a match with the WBA super champion didn’t get across the line, so Vargas instead chose a different option at super featherweight in the shape of new WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster.

Vargas did not adapt successfully to the increased weight class and was comfortably defeated on the cards and a first professional loss was entered on his record.

Happily for Vargas, he retained ownership of his featherweight world title, which brings him to tonight in Riyadh and a date with the undefeated WBC Silver champion from Liverpool, England, called Nick Ball.

WHEN THE LIVERPOOL featherweight firebrand Nick Ball seized No.1 spot in the WBC charts back in November he really didn’t expect his world title dream to become a potential reality any time soon.

The 26-year-old pint-sized puncher dismantled former world champion Isaac Dogboe as part of Frank Warren’s bumper Magnificent Seven card at the Manchester Arena and, it would be true to say, Ball stole the show.

It was a final eliminator towards a challenge for world championship honours and Ball outwitted and out punched his celebrated opponent to win by a comfortable nine and 10 rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards.

It completed a remarkable rise for the quietly spoken, business-like Scouser, who is trained by veteran coach Paul Stevenson at the 100 years-plus old Everton Red Triangle Gym in his home city.

It was just in April 2022 that Ball strode out at Wembley Stadium for what turned out to be his breakout fight against Isaac Lowe for the WBC Silver title and Ball demolished his more experienced foe in six rounds.

He then scored three straight KO victories over dangerous and established contenders before entering into his moment of Dogboe destiny.

Now he is up for the ultimate prize against Rey Vargas, a recognised and long-standing champion across two weight divisions.

“It was in January that I got a call from Paul to say I’d got a world title shot,” reported the 19-0 Ball. “He then told me it was in Saudi on a Joshua undercard so I was made up. It is what I have been waiting for.

“It is going to be such an experience being in Riyadh for me and my family and now I am just looking forward to being part of it all.

“I really didn’t think it would all happen this soon, but I am ready for it. I train all year round and over Christmas and it is paying off for me.

“Now I am getting my reward and I am going to take it with both hands. I didn’t think it would be now, but anything can happen in this sport.”

Ball, typically, is unable to offer much of an insight into the strengths of his forth-

coming opponents because he doesn’t spend any time studying footage.

This time around, he has afforded Vargas six minutes of his time.

“I’ve watched a couple of rounds but it was before I knew I was fighting him. I haven’t been thinking about him too much and have just been working on myself. I’ll let him worry about me,” he added, before responding to the question of if he has done anything differently in preparations, given the gravity of the fight in front of him.

“No, just the same. Nothing has changed and it doesn’t need to when you do it properly. This is a massive fight for me and it is life-changing when you think about it.

“I’ve seen what happens over in Riyadh and everything they do is massive, isn’t it? Now I am going to be part of it and I am sure it won’t feel real until I am there.

“This fight will go the way I make it go. I am ready for 20 rounds but I wouldn’t be surprised if I get a stoppage. If I catch someone clean on the chin I will hurt them, definitely.”

THE OUTSTANDING UZBEK Israil

Madrimov competes for the WBA World super welterweight title tonight against Majored Kurbanov in just his 11th fight as a professional.

The 29-year-old, who is based in Indio, California, does possess extensive amateur pedigree, having fought over 100 times in the unpaid ranks.

‘The Dream’ made his professional debut in November 2018 and marked the occasion with a sixth round stoppage of Vladimir Hernandez in Atlantic City before taking home the WBA Intercontinental title in fight No.2 with a defeat of Frank Rojas, via a second round stoppage in early 2019 in Verona.

He made a single defence of the Intercontinental belt against Alejandro Barrera in October 2019 before stepping up the levels and taking on established names such as Eric Walker (20-2), Emmany Kalombo (14-0) Michel Sort (35-2, twice) and, most recently, Raphael Igbokwe (16-3) in August of last year.

THE RUSSIAN STAR Magomed Kurbanov has been in the title-winning business since his sixth fight as a professional when he opened up his account with the WBC Asian Silver championship.

The now 28-year-old made a single defence of his Asian belt in 2016 before adding the WBO Youth title to his collection.

The more significant WBO Intercontinental title was secured in 2017 with victory over Virgilijus Stapulionis and the honour was subsequently defended twice in the same year against Stepan Horvath and Akinori Watanable.

After a further four straight wins, Kurbanov moved on to the WBO International title with a defeat of Diego Gabriel Chaves in 2019, a title he reclaimed in 2021 with a notable victory over former world champion Liam Smith.

Last time out, in May of last year, Kurbanov defeated Michel Soro - a common opponent with Israil Madrimov - via a split decision over 12 rounds to take his record to 25-0 heading in to tonight’s world title challenge against Kurbavov for the WBA World super welterweight title.

LITTLE DID GAVIN Gwynne imagine when he bagged the European title in the gritty environs of York Hall in December that his next move would transport him to the glitz and glamour of Riyadh Season.

The 33-year-old late bloomer from Treharris in Wales - originally hailing from the famous fight town of Merthyr Tydfilcompletely kickstarted his career during the Covid lockdown period when he shocked home favourite Sean McComb to win the Commonwealth title.

The British title belt was added just over a year later with victory over the previously unbeaten Luke Willis before a double encounter with countryman Craig Woodruff, with Gwynne winning the return after a drawn first fight.

This won Gwynne the right to fight for the European title, which he took home across the Severn Bridge following the eighth round retirement of Italian veteran Emiliano Marsili, who was unbeaten in 43 fights before taking on Gwynne in London.

Now Gwynne gets to sample the high

life in Riyadh by going up against undefeated IBF European champion Mark Chamberlain.

“No, definitely not,” responded Gwynne when asked if Riyadh was on his mind when his arm was raised to signal his reign as champion of Europe.

“My manager rang me just after Christmas and said he might have got me a shot out in Saudi. Do you know what, I was like ‘whatever’, thinking he was just stringing me along.

“Then he came back and said it was a done deal. I was like ‘what!’, I couldn’t believe it, to be honest with you. Not in my wildest dreams.

“It is like a Cinderella story for me, coming off two losses and working my way back to win titles. I’ve always been the underdog as well and I’ve never gone in as the A-side. I am probably the underdog in this fight as well and I’d rather be that.

“He is unbeaten and, going off my last performance, it wasn’t the best even though I stopped him.”

Underdog or not, Gwynne believes he is up against a top young prospect in Chamberlain, who he will have to be at his very best to overcome.

“He is a good fighter and was a good amateur as well. These are the fights I like to be in because it is a proper 50-50 fight. He is young, he is hungry and that always makes for a good fight because he comes and gives it his all.

“I am looking forward to a 12-round tear-up. I turn up and just want all-out war. He is obviously going to try and outbox me. I know he is strong as well and if he tries to have a go in the pocket, that is good for me.

“I am looking forward to the event as well because it is going to be a great one. It is a massive card and it is what dreams are made of.

“It is like the new Vegas in Riyadh. It is going to be a bit mad, we are staying in an apartment that I couldn’t afford to stay in! I’m just a boy from the Valleys, at the end of the day.

MARK CHAMBERLAIN HAD just returned from a pre-Christmas night out when he took the call saying he had been personally identified by H.E. Turki Alalshikh to feature on tonight’s Knockout Chaos card.

The lightweight, from near Portsmouth in England, was contacted by his promoter and manager Frank Warren with the surprise telephone call, with the phone then handed to His Excellency to pass on the news.

Ultimately, tonight the undefeated 25-year-old will take on Gavin Gwynne from Wales in his career biggest fight to date.

“The guys I used to work with invited me out on a curry night in December and we were on the way home at around 9.30pm, just pulling up, and my phone was ringing,” explained the southpaw. “It was Frank Warren.

“I knew they were three or four hours ahead, so I was like ‘what’s going on?’.

“I said ‘alright Frank’ and he said ‘I’ve got an opportunity here for you if you want it, I will let His Excellency tell you’. So he passed me over to H.E. who said ‘I’ve got an opportunity for you on March 8 and do you want to fight?’.

“Yes, sign me up,” I said. I couldn’t care who I was fighting, it was just the experience to get out there and being on the card was good enough for me. It just went from there really.”

It was quite something for a young fighter with a record of 14-0 to be personally identified as someone to perform for Riyadh Season.

“For them to be talking about me out there, he must like something, so I’ve got to make sure I put on a performance to keep him happy.

“I am looking forward to this massive platform. The whole world will be watching and I can’t thank Frank Warren and Turki Alalshikh enough for believing in me to go out and do a job.”

The job in hand is against a much more experienced, tough operator in Gwynne, whose career trajectory has rocketed in recent years with several major title wins.

“Do you know what I am really looking forward to? Fighting someone my own height, if not an inch bigger,” added Chamberlain. “I am tall for the weight and it will be nice to get in there and have a go with someone my own size.

“I’ve even been sparring middleweights so I am prepared for what he is going to bring.

“I take my hat off to him, he has won a lot in boxing, British, Commonwealth, European champion. He is a true champion and a good fighter, but I truly believe I am young, hungry, coming through and I am going to show everyone what I am about on the night.

“I truly believe I need a hard fight like this to push on in my career. If I stick to the game plan we will have a good scrap and I will come out on top.

“I’ve watched a few of his fights now and I know what to expect. I know he is a tough, tough man who will keep coming, but do you want to keep coming when someone is continually pummelling you in the face?

“I have pushed myself to the absolute limits in training. As weird as it sounds I am really looking forward to a good, hard, gruelling scrap. I want to know how I am gonna be with someone constantly on me wanting to punch my face in.

“I might sound like an idiot for saying it, but I am looking forward to it.”

THE AUSTRALIAN HEAVYWEIGHT Justis Huni tonight gets his golden opportunity to break through on the big stage when he takes on Kevin Lerena.

Huni, the 2016 Youth World Championship winner, is his nation’s major hope in boxing’s blue riband division and currently sits at 8-0 in his professional career, with four of the wins coming via KO.

The 24-year-old made his pro debut in October 2020 and marked the occasion with a seventh round stoppage of Faiga Opelu, before topping up his experience with four further 10 round fights and one six-rounder.

In fight No.6 as a pro, Huni stepped it up against the undefeated Joseph Goodall in triple-title action, including IBF and WBO regional belts. Goodall was comfortably outpointed over 10 rounds.

In October of last year, Huni took on another notable opponent over in Cancun when he went up against the 20-1 Andrew Tabiti and, again, he prevailed by a wide margin on the scorecards.

SOUTH AFRICAN SOUTHPAW Kevin Lerena has marked himself out as one of the most dangerous fringe contenders on the heavyweight circuit.

A former IBO world champion at cruiserweight, the 31-year-old came very close to becoming the architect of a major upset when he travelled to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December 2022 to take on British heavyweight starlet Daniel Dubois on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s world title defence against Derek Chisora.

Lerena warned everyone beforehand that he was nobody’s cannon fodder and he shocked the WBA regular world champion, at the time, with a shot to the temple that floored the mighty Londoner in the first round.

Dubois injured himself in the process, later requiring knee surgery, and went to the canvas a further two times in the opener before, somehow, regaining his poise and bludgeoning Lerena to what looked like an unlikely defeat at the end of the third round.

Since his London experience, Lerena has clocked up two victories over good level opponents in Ryad Merhy and Senad Gashi, while also becoming part of Team Fury preparations for the big undisputed showdown on May 18 here in Riyadh.

LIVERPOOL SUPER WELTERWEIGHT

Jack McGann has now been nominated as mandatory challenger for the British championship, such has been his progression since switching fighting codes back in 2018

Francis Ngannou is not alone in possessing an MMA pedigree on the show here in Riyadh tonight. The undefeated McGann also falls into this category and he will be looking to extend his unbeaten professional run in the sport having impressed against Alcibiade Duran, also known as Roberto Duran Jr, over eight rounds on the Battle of the Baddest show back in October.

McGann stopped Duran 37 seconds into the second round.

McGann, 30, spent five and a half years operating at the top of the MMA trade, where he had 16 fights, mostly in Russia against the elite fighters. He recorded 10 first round knockouts and found himself criticised for looking too much like a boxer.

When his contract expired in 2018 he made the decision to switch to the Noble Art and made his debut in Manchester on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s return to boxing against Sefer Seferi.

He has since taken his record to nine wins and one draw and won his first title - the IBO European - against Lazlo Toth in London back in March 2023.

UKRAINIAN HEAVYWEIGHT HOPEFUL

Andrii Novytskyi is tonight given the opportunity to showcase his explosive talents to the world.

The 6ft 6” giant, who resides in California, USA, has recorded eight KO finishes from his nine fights as a professional and is scheduled to have fight No.10 against American southpaw Juan Torres here in Riyadh tonight.

Novytskyi has fought every fight, bar one in Mexico, on US soil and, given his KO record, he has accumulated just 21 rounds of experience to date since making his debut in February of last year with a first round stoppage.

THE FURY FAMILY is again represented in Riyadh, this time by Roman Fury, a 27-year-old newcomer to the fighting fraternity.

The brother of Tommy Fury and half-brother of Tyson, cruiserweight Roman made his professional debut at Doncaster Racecourse in October 2022, successfully defeating Ryan Hibbert over four rounds. Erik Nazaryan was accounted for in June of last year before Fury secured a first stoppage victory in November against Bradley Davies in Brighton.

BORN IN SAUDI Arabia, Ziyad Almaayouf brings a local flavour to tonight’s Knockout Chaos production here in Riyadh.

The super lightweight, 23, known as Zizo, will be having his fifth fight as a professional, having made his debut at the Jeddah Superdome in August 2022 on the undercard of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

He overcame some adversity in fight No.2 in Diriyah, rising from the canvas in round one to prevail on points over Ronnald Martinez on the show headlined by Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul in February 2023.

He has since recorded two further points victories - in London and Wroclaw, Poland - to return him to Riyadh as an undefeated prospect of note.