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Itauma vs Whyte: The five best Riyadh Season heavyweight showdowns
Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte will share the ring on August 16 in Saudi Arabia for the latest instalment of heavyweight classics under the Riyadh Season banner.
This fight has serious implications for the careers of both men, just at different ends of the spectrum.
Dillian Whyte represents the biggest test of Moses Itauma’s career – a bona fide world-class heavyweight and former world title challenger. If the Slovakian-born Brit can take all that Whyte has to throw at him, then he will prove himself as a serious world championship contender.
While many view Whyte as just a test for Itauma, this fight means much more to Whyte than that. This could be his final chance at setting up a run at a world title or big money fight in the twilight of his career.
So, in honour of this high-stakes clash, here is a look back at five of the best heavyweight contests that have taken place in Riyadh Season.
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 1
May 18, 2024, Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia – A fight to determine who the greatest heavyweight of this era was.
The winner would be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion in nearly 25 years and in the four-belt era.
Since his memorable trilogy with Deontay Wilder to confirm him as the WBC heavyweight champion, Fury had beaten Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Usyk arrived in the heavyweight division after becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion and raced through some of the division’s best, including Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua, on the hunt for a second undisputed title.
The fight was both a masterful display of pugilistic prowess and a desire to be crowned king of the heavyweights.
The opening rounds were cagey, with both men trying to get a read on their opponent. Fury looked to establish his jab and work to the body. Usyk displayed fluid upper-body movement and a spearing right hand to characterise his opening efforts.
Fury found his range the quicker of the two, landing stinging jabs and counter uppercuts on the back foot, which caught Usyk off balance at times in the middle rounds.
The highlight of Fury’s middle-round dominance came in round six when he landed two right uppercuts that staggered Usyk, but he failed to capitalise, which was an error that would come back to haunt him.
By the final third of the fight, Fury had thrown everything at the Ukrainian and looked visibly tired when he threw a lazy lead upper cut in the ninth round, and Usyk landed a brutal left hand that sent Fury reeling from corner to corner.
It was scored as a knockdown, and Fury looked spent, but he was saved by the bell.
Usyk’s impressive endurance kicked in and allowed him to accelerate until the final bell of the fight, and the fight was on a knife’s edge as the crowd waited for the decision.
The judges scored it a razor-thin split decision 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114 in favour of Usyk.
Agit Kabayel vs Zhilei Zhang
February 2, 2025, The Venue Riyadh Season – Two fast-rising heavyweight contenders went to war for the WBC interim heavyweight title.
Kabayel was coming off career-best wins against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez and had quickly become a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.
Zhilei Zhang was a man that very few heavyweights wanted to share the ring with, possessing true lights-out power and coming off a sensational knockout victory over a perhaps spent Deontay Wilder.
The fight promised fireworks, and it delivered. Kabayel showed bravery that few before him had dared to and glued himself to Zhang’s chest, unloading endless body punches.
Zhang trundled forward and made Kabayel feel his power, finding brief success with his straight left hand in the fifth round when he scored a flash knockdown with what looked like a fairly innocuous shot.
The very next round, Kabayel’s body work proved to be too much for the gargantuan Chinese fighter who circled the ring gasping for air before the final left hook to the body landed – dropping Zhang to his knees and unable to beat the count.
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois
September 21, 2023, Wembley Stadium – a young lion and a seasoned veteran who has seen it all collided under the arch in an unforgettable and chaotic encounter that will go down in British boxing history.
Both men were in the midst of a career rebuild. Joshua had notched up three wins since his back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk, beating Jermaine Franklin, Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin.
Dubois was also recovering from his loss to Oleksandr Usyk by beating Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller.
The fight was for the IBF title in Dubois’ possession, which had recently been upgraded due to Usyk choosing to vacate to make way for his rematch with Tyson Fury.
On the night, Joshua looked to have lost all the confidence he had rebuilt, faltering under the pressure from Dubois’ heavy double jab and cross.
At the end of the first round, Joshua was on the retreat with hands down and chin high.
The young Brit detonated an overhand right that dropped Joshua, signalling the beginning of the end for the former two-time unified champion.
Joshua was dropped a further three times in the third, fourth and fifth rounds before he could no longer return to his feet.
Daniel Dubois vs Jarrell Miller
June 1, 2024, Kingdom Arena – Daniel Dubois needed to bounce back from the second stoppage loss of his career, and he chose a staunch test to try to get himself back into world title contention – Jarrell Miller.
Miller had been largely untested in his career as a professional boxer with his biggest win against Mariusz Wach, but came into the fight undefeated and with dececeptively slick boxing skills that some thought could give Dubois problems.
Dubois was forced into unfamiliar territory, with Miller marching forward and landing sneaky shots on the inside.
Showing impressive composure under pressure, Dubois walked ‘Big Baby’ onto big shots and got himself out to a comfortable lead.
The early advance of Miller began to take its toll as he faded, but showed impressive courage to continue trading leather with the heavy-hitter from London.
By the time the tenth and final round arrived, Dubois had a clear lead and went looking for the stoppage as the ultimate statement to the boxing world that he was back and a new man.
Miller had nothing left to give and the referee stepped in with less than thirty seconds to go as Dubois unloaded vicious combinations on the Brooklyn native.
Joseph Parker vs Deontay Wilder
December 23, 2023, Kingdom Arena – Two veteran heavyweights and former world champions took the stage to scrap for the right to stay on the world stage.
Parker entered the ring for the fourth time in less than a year, which was rare for a modern heavyweight, but it was to be the crescendo in a mighty comeback from a damaging knockout loss to Joe Joyce in 2022.
Wilder had only fought one round since his third and final fight with Tyson Fury in 2021, knocking out Robert Helenius and entered the fight as the favourite.
But faced with a smart boxer with a strict game plan, Wilder looked at sea, only looking for the single knockout shot he had been so famous for.
Parker boxed almost perfectly on the night, working behind an educated jab to keep Wilder on the back foot, making it difficult for him to measure up his siege gun right hand.
The highlight of the fight came in the eighth round when Parker landed a wild overhand right that stunned Wilder, who desperately tried to hang on and survive.
The Kiwi’s confidence in his boxing carried him to a wide, unanimous decision victory over what used to be one of the most destructive forces in boxing - but now looked to be a spent force.
Watch Itauma vs Whyte live on DAZN
Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte is live and exclusive on DAZN PPV this Saturday, August 16. Buy the PPV for a one-off fee or get it for free by purchasing a DAZN annual subscription (exc. US).
More information, pricing and to buy click here.
