RING IV - FULL MAIN CARD PREVIEW
Riyadh Season’s reputation for putting on top-quality cards is enhanced even further this weekend in Riyadh, as eight of the world’s best put it all on the line in four cracking world title fights across four different weight divisions.
At the top of the card, undefeated two-weight world champion David Benavidez defends his WBC 175lbs title against England’s Anthony Yarde, while Devin Haney aims to become a three-weight world champion when he challenges Brian Norman Jr for the WBO World Welterweight Title in a genuine American grudge match.
Before the two main events, Bam Rodriguez faces Fernando Martinez in a three-belt super-flyweight unification clash, after Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes put their undefeated records on the line for the vacant WBO World Lightweight Title — and that’s where we’ll start.
Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes – Vacant WBO World Lightweight Title
A fight created largely by circumstance after Keyshawn Davis lost the title on the scales before obliterating Denys Berinchyk inside four rounds, Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes now face the toughest test of their careers as they battle for world glory.
Despite having had two more fights than Noakes, Mason has been a professional for two years less, averaging nearly five fights a year since his debut at the end of 2021. Activity has been key for him.
A talented amateur, he’s flourished in the paid ranks with 19 straight wins, 17 of them coming by stoppage.
He made a huge statement in his last fight against Jeremia Nakathila, forcing the Namibian into submission after four completed rounds. He’ll hope to build on that win against the undefeated Sam Noakes on Saturday night.
One of the most charismatic fighters on the circuit, Noakes has shown he’s got the gift of the gab both inside and outside of the ring.
Seventeen wins from 17 fights with 15 stoppages prove he’s not just brute force — he can box, as shown with dominant 12-round wins over the durable Ryan Walsh and Yvan Mendy in recent years.
Here, though, he faces a completely different type of fighter to anything he’s seen before.
A tricky southpaw, Mason is regarded by many as the future of boxing — and if Noakes is going to win, he’ll need to do something no one else has done: push the American back and hurt him.
He needs to make the fight as uncomfortable as possible. He’s probably the biggest puncher Mason has faced so far, and he must make him feel that power early.
If Noakes can make it rough in the clinches and disrupt Mason’s rhythm, he has a real chance of becoming world champion.
However, if he allows this to become a pure boxing match, it will play into Mason’s hands.
One thing’s for sure: you can’t afford to blink.
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez – WBA, WBO & WBC World Super-Flyweight Titles
One of the best pound-for-pound stars on the planet at just 25, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez has been a breath of fresh air for the lighter divisions.
He’s already a unified champion in two weight classes and has the names Sunny Edwards, Juan Francisco Estrada, and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on his résumé — not bad at all.
Here he meets reigning WBA World Super-Flyweight champion Fernando Martinez.
Undefeated in 18 professional contests, the Argentine has notched impressive victories over Jerwin Ancajas twice and most recently Kazuto Ioka twice.
He’s earned this opportunity, but he’s swimming in a completely different ocean now.
With a potential 2026 super-fight against Naoya Inoue looking like a genuine possibility for Rodriguez, he cannot afford a slip-up — and we don’t expect one.
He’ll likely start slowly to download Martinez’s data, then up the pace after a couple of rounds and push for a mid-round stoppage.
Martinez will need a career-best performance to get close to Bam. Expect the American to simply have too much skill.
Brian Norman Jr vs Devin Haney – WBO World Welterweight Title
Now to the first of the two main events — and what a pair of fights we have lined up.
In this one, Devin Haney steps up to welterweight for the first time to challenge hard-hitting WBO world champion Brian Norman Jr.
Undefeated in 31 professional fights, Haney appeared to suffer the first loss of his career against Ryan Garcia after being dropped three times and losing on points.
However, once Garcia tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, the bout was ruled a no contest, preserving Haney’s undefeated record.
He returned over a year later with a dominant performance against Jose Carlos Ramirez, proving once again how talented he is. Now he steps up for one of the toughest assignments of his career — including wins over Vasyl Lomachenko, George Kambosos, and Jorge Linares.
Norman has gone about his work much more quietly since turning pro in 2018.
A career welterweight, he burst onto the scene when dismantling the undefeated Giovanni Santillan to claim the WBO Interim World Welterweight Title in May last year.
Back-to-back stoppage wins over Derrieck Cuevas and Jin Sasaki followed, and he now makes the third defence of his title against the gifted Haney in Saudi Arabia.
So how does this play out?
Haney has always looked like a natural welterweight squeezed into the lower weights, but here he’s up against a true career welterweight who is strong and dangerous.
If Haney is to win, he must do what he does best: box clever.
Norman Jr has more than just punching power; he has solid fundamentals too.
Haney needs to target the body early, slow Norman’s movement, offset him when he tries to land big shots, and frustrate him throughout.
As for Norman, he must maximise his power advantage.
Haney has been dropped and hurt by fighters who hit significantly less hard than Norman. That will give the champion confidence.
But he cannot be reckless. With all the emotion involved, if Norman gets careless, Haney has the ability to make him look foolish.
Likewise, if Haney lets his own emotions overwhelm him, Norman Jr will have a huge opportunity to deliver another viral knockout.
That’s what makes this fight so intriguing.
David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde – WBC World Light-Heavyweight Title
To the final fight of the night — and there is almost no scenario where this won’t be pure box office.
A former world champion at super-middleweight, David Benavidez has put together one of the most impressive active runs in the sport with wins over Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and most recently David Morrell Jr.
Those four fighters had a combined record of 75-2, and Benavidez made relatively light work of them all.
After being elevated to full WBC World Light-Heavyweight champion when Dmitry Bivol vacated, he now faces two-time world title challenger Anthony Yarde.
Yarde burst onto the scene with 18 fights and 17 stoppages. He fell short against Sergey Kovalev for the WBO world title in 2019 and has only lost to Lyndon Arthur (whom he later defeated twice) and the ferocious Artur Beterbiev. Despite some inactivity, he remains one of the biggest dangers in the 175lbs division.
As mentioned earlier, it’s almost impossible for this fight to disappoint.
Two men who can box but love to stand in the pocket and trade — expect exactly that.
Despite spending his whole career at light-heavyweight, Yarde is likely to be the smaller man, which could work in his favour.
Rumours suggest Benavidez has struggled to make weight, so if he comes in depleted, expect Yarde to target the body relentlessly.
For Benavidez, the blueprint to beat Yarde has already been shown by Kovalev, Arthur, and Beterbiev. With Yarde now 34 and nearly 30 fights deep, he may be past his peak.
Benavidez needs to use his youth and strength. Yarde is powerful — but it’s rare for him to meet someone just as strong, if not stronger.
The American must assert his dominance early on the inside to stop Yarde from marching forward with his trademark hooks.
Benavidez is rightly the favourite, but if he stops Yarde, it will likely go down as the biggest win of his career.