The marketing moguls behind the scenes have been heavily leaning on the combined records of the eight main protagonists featured on this stacked card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, totaling an impressive 193-3.<\/p>\n
On first glance, that looks like a cricket score (sorry readers from outside of the UK or Australia \u2014 we\u2019ve been swept up by Ashes fever here), but dig deeper and you soon realize that all of those three losses belong to the Briton.<\/p>\n
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Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) is hoping it’s third time’s the charm for him in world title fights this weekend after dropping spirited losses to Sergey Kovalev (2019) and Artur Beterbiev (2023), but things won\u2019t get any easier against the Mexican \u201cMonster.\u201d<\/p>\n
David Benavidez<\/a> is a pound-for-pound star<\/a> on the verge of breaking into the wider public\u2019s consciousness, and a dominant performance against the man monikered “The Beast\u201d could do just that.<\/p>\n Benavidez is 30 fights unbeaten, has racked up 24 stoppages, and at just 28 years old, is still shy of his career peak. If he navigates a route past the hard-hitting and gutsy Yarde, then the likes of Dmitry Bivol, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Beterbiev await in 2026 \u2014 even, perhaps, a long-awaited matchup between him and Saul \u201cCanelo\u201d Alvarez, if a weight can be negotiated.<\/p>\n 2. It\u2019s a family affair between the Haneys and Normans<\/p>\n Thanksgiving might still be a week away, but we\u2019ve already been served a healthy portion of what looked suspiciously like two drunk dads bickering across a crowded dinner table.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n On Thursday afternoon, Brian Norman Sr. and Bill Haney managed to turn a routine press conference into a family-function sideshow, making their sons \u2014 Brian Jr. and Devin \u2014 look like the only adults in the building.<\/p>\n Things escalated when Bill Haney sprung out of his seat and effectively offered to throw down with Norman Sr. out on stage, much to the delight of a press pack who could barely keep a straight face. Security eventually stepped in, but by then the circus had well and truly arrived.<\/p>\n All of it adds another layer to a fight that really doesn\u2019t need any extra seasoning. On Saturday night, Brian Norman Jr. puts the WBO welterweight title he claimed earlier this year on the line \u2014 and thanks to the dads, the temperature has been turned up just that little bit more.<\/p>\n This co-main event is a pure 50\/50, coin toss, pick \u2018em \u2014 whatever you want to call it, just make sure you don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n 3. Bam Rodriguez means business<\/p>\n The boyish grin of Jesse \u201cBam\u201d Rodriguez will light up Riyadh\u2019s ANB Arena on Saturday night, as he looks to tighten his grip on the super flyweight division. The Texan prodigy attempts to defend his unified world titles against Argentina\u2019s marauding Fernando \u201cPuma\u201d Martinez, with the WBA strap glinting just out of reach, inviting him to complete another piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cBam\u201d remains one of boxing\u2019s great oxymorons.<\/p>\n With the floppy hair, the easy smile, and the unassuming demeanor of someone who still gets ID\u2019d buying an energy drink, the 25-year-old hardly looks like a man who has carved out a reputation as one of the sport\u2019s most ruthless young talents.<\/p>\n \u201cBam\u201d has also recently become a father, so Saturday\u2019s contest with the fearless \u201cPuma\u201d holds extra incentive as he looks to protect his family’s future.<\/p>\n Rodriguez’s promotor, Matchroom Boxing\u2019s Eddie Hearn, described his super flyweight charge as \u201ceveryone\u2019s favorite fighter\u201d at Thursday\u2019s press conference, before weighing in with his own verbals during what was a spirited faceoff between the two world champions.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n David Benavidez, Anthony Yarde, Devin Haney and Brian Norman Jr. may all be jostling for position as the main attraction of Saturday’s card, but when \u201cBam\u201d means business, he\u2019s usually the brightest star in town.<\/p>\n Fireworks.<\/p>\n (REUTERS \/ Reuters)4. Is Abdullah Mason\u2019s time now?<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019m very excited about,\u201d Abdullah Mason told DAZN in response to the expectation that he will become the new \u201cface of boxing\u201d in the future.<\/p>\n We may be some time off that yet, but the 21-year-old can make a big step toward that accolade this weekend as he attempts to bag his maiden world title.<\/p>\n Mason boasts a perfect record with 17 knockouts from 19 victories, and challenges the United Kingdom\u2019s Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight world title this Saturday night.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The southpaw only turned pro in late 2021 but has been one of the most active fighters in the sport since, racking up 19 fights in just four years. A win over Noakes will see him become the youngest male world champion in the boxing, eclipsing Puerto Rico’s Xander Zayas from earlier this summer.<\/p>\n 5. Tenshin Nasukawa and Takuma Inoue collide in Tokyo<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not all boxed-out following Saturday’s card, then settle down for some Monday action live from Tokyo, Japan.<\/p>\n Tenshin Nasukawa is one of Japan\u2019s most gifted and hyped combat sports prodigies of the past decade, and after moving from kickboxing into boxing in 2023, he now has the chance to win a world title \u2014 adding to those from his previous career.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The 27-year-old southpaw is a bonafide superstar in Japan and will start as a big crowd and betting favorite against Naoya Inoue\u2019s younger brother, Takuma Inoue, for the vacant WBC bantamweight world title inside the Toyota Arena.<\/p>\n Taukma Inoue is only 29 years old, but with two defeats now blotting his record, this feels like a crossroads fight between two guys whose careers are heading in different trajectories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just when you thought last weekend\u2019s Eubank-Benn drama had finally killed off the father-son rivalry genre, along come…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[15227,22402,41313,1935,184691,19520,23809,55356,4333,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-585795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-anthony-yarde","9":"tag-artur-beterbiev","10":"tag-bill-haney","11":"tag-boxing","12":"tag-brian-norman-sr","13":"tag-david-benavidez","14":"tag-devin-haney","15":"tag-riyadh","16":"tag-riyadh-season","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Boxing](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/8afd2820-c716-11f0-8ff7-399f70a5cf1e.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n