Fabio Wardley delivered a stunning first-round knockout in his rematch against Frazer Clarke to successfully defend his British heavyweight title. The duo had previously battled through all 12 rounds at London’s O2 Arena in March, resulting in a draw. However, their second encounter in Riyadh, part of the Artur Beterbiev versus Dmitry Bivol undercard, lasted only about two and a half minutes. Wardley stunned Clarke with a looping overhand right, followed by a relentless barrage that sent him to the canvas. Despite Clarke’s attempt to rise, the referee halted the contest. Wardley, now 18-1 in his career, remarked post-fight: “Once I hurt someone, I know I can finish them. We addressed the issues from the last fight, refined our strategy, and executed perfectly. I learned from the first fight that I excel in a war, so we adjusted our approach, making it smoother and better disguised. But I can’t change my nature: war by name, war by nature. Once I have my opponent hurt, there’s no saving them unless the bell rings.”
Chris Eubank Jr faced off with Conor Benn after his middleweight victory over Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta, which ended in a seventh-round knockout. Eubank Jr had already floored Szeremeta in rounds one and six before the fight was stopped, prompting Benn to jump into the ring. With Brazilian forward Neymar, who plays for Saudi side Al Hilal, watching from the ring, the British fighters engaged in a heated exchange, with both challenging each other to a fight. Benn, who hasn’t fought in the UK since being suspended for failing two voluntary drug tests in preparation for his October 2022 bout with Eubank Jr, which was subsequently canceled, expressed optimism about returning to the UK ring soon. He told Dazn: “This will all be cleared up in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, we’ll have an announcement next month, God willing.”
Raven Chapman was defeated by Australia’s WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson in the first women’s world title fight held in Saudi Arabia. Nicolson secured the victory via unanimous decision. In another bout, Jai Opetaia defended his IBF cruiserweight title against Britain’s Jack Massey, with the fight ending in round six. A light-heavyweight clash between Britons Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron resulted in a draw after both fighters fell out of the ring. Whittaker, the Olympic silver medallist, left the arena in a wheelchair and was taken to hospital for scans on his injured leg after the incident. The bout was declared a technical split draw, with Whittaker leading on one scorecard and Cameron on another, while the third was tied.
The main event featured Beterbiev unifying the light-heavyweight world titles via majority decision.
