Bivol’s slick movement and smart game plan made him a tough challenge for Beterbiev in their first fight. But as the rounds went on, Beterbiev’s power and killer instinct started to take over. No surprise there—he came into the fight with a perfect 100% knockout record.

Beterbiev should get the nod here, and with little separating the two, expect it to go the distance. That’s not to say a knockdown is out of the question. Despite being on the back foot in the latter rounds, Bivol landed arguably the bigger counterstrikes against Beterbiev. It wouldn’t be a monumental shock for one of these to wobble the champion in the early rounds and drop to a knee.

All being considered, Beterbiev should get the nod on the scorecards despite an early scare from Bivol.

A highly anticipated rematch to even get the casual fan excited, as Artur Beterbiev goes toe-to-toe with Dmitry Bivol in an undisputed light heavyweight title fight following their razor-close fight back in October.

Like that first bout in October, the rematch is set to take place in Saudi Arabia, as is common practice for all fight fans these days.

Beterbiev took the nod in the first bout, despite a strong start from Bivol, and I feel a similar scenario unfolding on Saturday night.

Paddy Power have Beterbiev priced as the slight favourite for this one, which isn’t a surprise when you consider how he slowly grew into the first fight and finished the stronger of the two.

Bivol’s elite movement and tactical approach proved a tough nut to crack for Beterbiev to crack in the first bout, however as the fight progressed, Beterbiev’s power and elite knockout ability began to rear its head. It’s unsurprising when you consider Beterbiev had a 100% KO record before their first bout.

Fans can expect a pure masterclass in precision striking this Saturday night, and why there may not be a headline-grabbing KO, expect Beterbiev to grow into the fight and move to 22-0.

This fight is a two-sided coin. Everyone is devastated that we were not able to see Daniel Dubois make the first defence of his IBF heavyweight title, with ‘Triple D’ pulling out of this bout due to illness 48 hours before the fight.

That being said, it speaks volumes about the character of Joseph Parker he is willing to take a fresh opponent on 48 hours’ notice, in the form of Congolese heavyweight Martin Bakole.

Parker is priced at 1.53 here to win by Paddy Power, which is slightly generous when you consider he comes into this off the back of a full camp.

Granted this is a new opponent, and Bakole is no slouch. His KO of promising US heavyweight Jared Anderson proved as such, but Parker is a class above what Bakole is yet to face.

A win for Parker would see him be the likely next opponent for P4P #1 Oleksandr Usyk. Combine that with generous odds of 1.53 and this looks like a safe addition to our accumulator.

A British v British bout at light heavyweight, as the experienced Callum Smith takes on Joshua Buatsi, with the latter placing his WBO interim light heavyweight title on the line.

Again, we’re siding with the favourite in this one. Buatsi comes in at 1.50 and when you consider his high work rate and ability to utilise his power in close range, it seems like a fair price.

Smith has only lost to the best of the best. His two professional losses to Canelo Alvarez and the main event’s Artur Beterbiev, and he will arguably go down as one of the greatest light heavyweights in British boxing history.

However, Buatsi, like Canelo and Beterbiev, has the ability to take a shot and dish out heavy punishment making it a tricky matchup for Smith.

The key for Buatsi will be to push the pace. If his cardio holds up, back him to get the biggest win of his career on Saturday night.

Fan favourite ‘Big Bang’ Zhang makes yet another walk under the lights in Saudi Arabia. The Chinese veteran has proven to be a stalwart of top heavyweight boxing in recent years and has only fought the best of the best.

At 41 however, many are questioning if his best years are behind him. Yes, he KO’d Deontay Wilder in June, but that was not the Deontay Wilder of pre-2018.

In his way is a promising young German heavyweight Agit Kabayel, whose undefeated record still remains intact at an impressive 25-0 (17 KOs).

His surprise underdog win against Arslanbek Makhmudov back in December 2023 turned a lot of heads, and now he gets the biggest fight of his young career in the form of Zhang.

The key for Kabayel will be surviving those early rounds. Zhang will be 42 in May, and at 32 he has the cardio and fresh legs on his side. Should he make it past the 6th/7th round, Zhang’s pace will slow and it will be a case of the German finding his moment to pick him off.