In this week’s mailbag, we tackle a few of the big bouts on the seven-fight extravaganza scheduled for February 22 in Riyadh, including the rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol; the fight between junior middleweight contenders Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Israil Madrimov, made all the more surprising given that Madrimov will also be facing Serhii Bohachuk just two months before then; and the clash between heavyweight contenders Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel.
We also remember Israel Vazquez, who died of cancer earlier this week at the age of 46.
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Second verse, different from the first: Boxing’s greatest rematch adjustments
It was civil rights campaigner and feminist author Rita Mae Brown — not the frequently credited Albert Einstein — who defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” And while at least a light splash of insanity is almost a prerequisite for deciding to become a boxer, it is indeed rarely advisable for a fighter who has already lost once to a particular opponent to box that opponent again the exact same way he did the first time and expect to have his hand raised in the rematch.
Saudi Arabia's February 22 card a bettors' and boxers' paradise
After years of comfortable favorites accompanied by betting lines of -500 or greater in championship bouts, the six-fight Saudi Arabia pay-per-view broadcast has just one prohibitive favorite, with the rest viewed as near pick-ems.
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Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol II set for February 22 in Riyadh