Saturday’s Day of Reckoning boxing card from Saudi Arabia has garnered plenty of attention. That’s not surprising given Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua competing in the top two fights on the card with a future showdown hanging in the balance.
Wilder faces Joseph Parker while Joshua will be going head-to-head with Otto Wallin. Those are legitimate heavyweight showdowns for the former world champions and certainly present the possibility of either man making a misstep that takes the wind out of the sails of Wilder vs. Joshua in 2024.
Beyond those two huge fights, there are familiar names up and down an undercard with more depth than most boxing cards. Among those fighting on the undercard is pound-for-pound list staple Dmitry Bivol, former cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia and a host of big names from the heavyweight division (live on DAZN PPV beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET — subscribe now).
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With that in mind, let’s take a look at every fight on the undercard to understand the storylines and stakes for each fighter.
Dmitry Bivol (c) vs. Lyndon Arthur, WBA light heavyweight title
One of the best fighters on the planet is on the card, though you’d hardly know if you hadn’t been paying close attention. WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol hasn’t exactly parlayed his May 2022 win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez into superstardom. The fight with Arthur is just the second for Bivol since the Alvarez win, having handled business against Gilberto Ramirez in November 2022. After beating Alvarez, there was talk of a rematch that now appears will never happen and a battle with unified champion Artur Beterbiev to crown an undisputed champion at 175 pounds. Neither of those have happened — and the WBC repeatedly has stood in the way of a bout with Beterbiev, with Mauricio Sulaiman saying Bivol is ineligible to win their title due to ongoing sanctions against Russian fighters and saying he would go as far as to block the fight. Bivol also needed time off after having hand surgery early in 2023.
All of that leads to Bivol heading to the ring Saturday night as a massive favorite against largely unheralded Arthur. Arthur has a big win on his resume, having edged out Anthony Yarde by split decision in 2020. The rematch did not go as well, with Arthur suffering a fourth-round knockout loss, the lone loss of his career. Since that defeat, Arthur has picked up four wins, three by stoppage and won the IBO title, which is not a recognized world championship, to earn his shot at the top dog in the division.
Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro, cruiserweight
Opetaia has chosen money over being a world champion by taking this fight. After being granted an exemption by the IBF to fight Jordan Thompson in September, Opetaia sought a second exemption to fight Zorro, who is not even ranked by the IBF. The IBF refused and said Opetaia would be stripped of his belt if he went ahead with the bout and followed through with that threat, relieving Opetaia of his title. Opetaia is reportedly working to finalize a $2 million deal with Saudi Arabia for a three-fight deal.
Opetaia is a massive -2500 favorite heading into the bout with Zorro, who has never competed against anyone near Opetaia’s level of skill. It doesn’t feel as though there’s much drama heading into this, with Opetaia as the more proven fighter and a fighter of world-championship caliber facing an opponent who is so far out of the title picture that the IBF was willing to strip a title over it. But the name of the game is “prizefighting” and Opetaia has chosen the prize of money over the prize of being world champion.
Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller, heavyweight
While the above fights are lacking in intrigue with big favorites facing lesser opponents, Dubois vs. Miller has a good amount of intrigue. Dubois lost a world title shot earlier in the year when he was stopped by Oleksandr Usyk. That loss didn’t come without some controversy, however, with Dubois landing a shot that put Usyk on the canvas but that was ultimately ruled a low blow rather than a legal body shot. Dubois disagreed with the ruling but his appeal was denied and it was time for him to move forward and take on the next test of his career.
Miller will always carry the baggage of multiple drug test failures for performance-enhancing drugs, one of which took him out of a fight with Anthony Joshua. In that first failed test, Miller tested positive for nearly every PED under the sun. The two failures led to a lengthy stretch out of the ring for Miller, who didn’t fight between November 2018 and June 2022. Despite the baggage, Miller is still an undefeated American heavyweight with a 26-0-1 record and 22 knockout wins and that can keep a fighter in the spotlight. A win over Dubois could move Miller closer to a title shot, even if that may not sit well with many fans after his past sins.
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Agit Kabayel, heavyweight
By records alone, this looks like a compelling fight. Makhmudov is 18-0 with 17 knockouts, while Kabayel sits at 23-0 with 15 stoppage wins. Dig a little deeper and you see why Makhmudov is a -1000 favorite. Makhmudov has solid power in his hands and has a dominant win over former world title challenger Carlos Takam. Kabayel has a majority decision win over Derek Chisora but overall has a softer record and is a less dangerous puncher than Makhmudov, who is going to need to speed up his career at 34 years old if he wants to reach a potential title shot down the road.
Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa, heavyweight
Sanchez elevated himself in the heavyweight division with a good win over Efe Ajagba in October 2021. Rather than step up his game, Sanchez stepped down his level of opponent, which was particularly egregious in fights with Daniel Martz and Scott Alexander in his two most recent outings. Fa is a better opponent but one who is certainly expected to lose here. After starting his career 19-0, Fa lost a decision to Joseph Parker and then was shocked in his planned “get right” fight when he was stopped by Lucas Browne in less than two minutes. He since rebounded with a win over an 0-6 fighter in a four-round fight, so it’s unclear where Fa currently is given that run of results.
Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori, heavyweight
This fight being made is, honestly, a travesty. Hrgovic is the current IBF mandatory challenger at heavyweight. De Mori got blasted out inside one round by David Haye in 2016 and has won 11 fights since. That may sound like a good run, but De Mori’s opponents entered those fights with a combined record of 161-185-2. While any ranking system has its flaws, according to BoxRec this is a matchup of the No. 9 and No. 371 heavyweights in the world.
