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Tonight's fight card of the century is every birthday and Christmas rolled into one for boxing fans
Boxing fans have never had it so good over the past year or so.
Two undisputed heavyweight title fights, an undisputed light heavyweight clash between two pound-for-pound greats, sold out events in London and Los Angeles, Riyadh Season is making boxing great again.
When the boxing world thought 2024 could not be topped, then came the announcement of The Last Crescendo which will take place tonight on DAZN PPV.
This is arguably one of, if not, the biggest fight card in boxing history and while there have been a few hiccups along the way, for boxing fans tonight's event is every Christmas and birthday rolled into one.
Shock fight week changes add to the drama
With four world title fights taking place on this card, it would take a monumental effort for everything to run smoothly.
Some were scared to tempt fate when going into fight week with all seven original fights on the card still on. However, big boxing events rarely go to plan.
News emerged on Tuesday that Floyd Schofield was unable to fight WBC world lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson due to illness. Cue the Cinderella story.
Britain's Josh Padley was called up on a few days' notice to make the trip to Riyadh, and now the daytime electrician is set to be a part of a historic moment in the sport of boxing, and has the chance to produce an upset that would send shockwaves through the boxing world.
- Read next | Exclusive: Josh Padley ready for 'life changing' moment vs Shakur Stevenson on fight card of the century
It would not be a Riyadh Season event if the heavyweight division was not involved, and tonight's co-main event was one which generated plenty of excitement.
Preceding the eagerly anticipated undisputed light heavyweight title rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois was set to face Joseph Parker in a clash between two of the heavyweight division's most in form fighters.
This unfortunately is no longer the case. Moments before Thursday's final press conference was due to get underway, news began to filter that Dubois was ill putting his title defence doubt. Then came confirmation that there will be no world heavyweight title fight and a replacement for Parker was being lined up.
One name which was frequently being bandied around on social media was Martin Bakole, and as this boxing bat signal was lit, the man from Congo responded, and will now face the New Zealander on two days' notice.
The confirmation of Bakole's deal to face Parker sent boxing fans into meltdown, in a good way, with some even claiming this could be a better fight than Dubois such as Matchroom's Eddie Hearn.
Sometimes boxing fight weeks can be ordinary, a slog with those watching on wishing away the pre-fight night events, but this time around, it has been something akin to drama television series.
In Padley and Bakole, these are two men who expected to be watching this historic event from the sidelines. Instead they have been thrust into the heat of Riyadh where the next chapter of boxing history will be written.
Padley and Bakole may get comprehensively beaten come the event's end, but it's the slight hope and the fairytale story which make the sweet science such an intriguing sport and one which resonates with the casual sports fan.
Title fights galore, the perfect boxing feast
As mentioned there are plenty of world title fights taking place on this bill.
The main event sees Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol meet once for undisputed light heavyweight glory. It was Beterbiev who got the nod back in October with a close majority decision, and just four months later, it's time to go again with Bivol showing that he is more than capable of troubling the defending undisputed champion if the first fight was anything to go by.
Shakur Stevenson's WBC lightweight title fight has already been discussed with its fairytale story in the form of Josh Padley, but there is one title fight on the card which appears to be under the radar.
This being the WBC middleweight title clash between Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz. For Sheeraz, a world title shot has been coming and fans will be hoping he can land another of his devastating knockout finishes which could be the start of his road to superstardom. Just don't expect Adames to let go of that belt easily.
Those are just the world title fights, Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith meet in a light heavyweight domestic blockbuster, there is more heavyweight action with Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel, whilst Vergil Ortiz Jr and Israil Madrimov go head-to-head in a contest which could steal the show.
For boxing fans, it does not get much better than tonight's card in Riyadh, so enjoy it and get ready to witness boxing history in the making.
Watch the full Last Crescendo card live on DAZN PPV
Watch and the full Last Crescendo fight card, including Beterbiev vs Bivol and Parker vs Bakole, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.
The PPV is available to buy now at £19.99 in UK and $25.99 in US.
Buying the DAZN PPV offers a range of extra benefits including alternative commentary options with Adam Smith or True Geordie or Showbizz the Adult ; local language commentary; entry to a prize draw for tickets to Chris Eubank Jr. vs Connor Benn* (for UK only); and a seven-day free trial of the full DAZN platform.
Watch the fight night anywhere with DAZN via smart TV's, smartphones, tablets, games consoles, streaming devices and PC's / laptops.
For PPV costs in your country and to buy now, click here .
*UK only. Restrictions apply. See T&Cs on help.dazn.com. Full T&C's here
