Last Crescendo - IMPORTANT fight updates

The Last Crescendo - what time do the fights start?

Even with 2 changes to the card, this is still THE BEST FIGHT NIGHT EVER!

The Last Crescendo will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main event features a rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight title. The first fight had a lot of controversy as it was widely believed Bivol should have won and it went the other way on the scorecards! The undercard has undergone 2 changes (so far). Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois was scheduled vs Joseph Parker but withdrew due to illness. Martin Bakole has stepped in as a replacement and this is a tough challenge 1) Parker trained for months for Daniel Dubois 2) This is not for the IBF Heavyweight championship anymore 3) Bakole is touted as one of the riskiest fights in the division with very low reward!!!

HOWEVER, Bakole was not in training camp yet for his scheduled bout in May and was on vacation in his homeland The Congo, before catching a flight to Riyadh. This is going to be a hard fight to pick from the external factors, but Parker needs the win to keep his IBF Heavyweight championship dream alive!

Floyd Schofield Jr. was down to fight WBC Lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson but withdrew due to illness. Josh Padley has been confirmed as the new opponent for Stevenson. Josh Padley is a part-time boxer and part-time electrician based in Doncaster and has flown out on 3 days' notice. He has already made the weight once before travelling, so should be fine to fight!!! 

Floyd Schofield Jr. has requested additional testing, as he believes he may have been poisoned among other allegations. This was a 70/30 fight in favour of Stevenson, but now it is more like 90/10 and we wish Padley all the best with his Cinderella story here at Hy-Lyfe Media though!

The card and estimated start times in the UK:

1. 7.30 PM Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz This is a 50/50, but we are going for Sheeraz.
2. 6.30 PM Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov This is also 50/50, but since I have seen Ortiz's power live in Vegas, I have to back him.
3. 5.30 PM Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel We are going for Kabayel due to his recent performances and Zhang's age. 
4. 4.30 PM Joshua Buatsi vs. Callum Smith We are going for Buatsi as we believe it means more to him and Smith has already spoken about retirement

It just shows the quality of the card with Buatsi vs Smith going first and this would sell out the 02 arena. Stevenson vs Padley will be around 8.30 PM, Parker vs Bakole will be around 9.30 PM, and THE MAIN EVENT Beterbiev vs Bivol 2 is scheduled around 11 pm, so we presume there will be some kind of musical performance in between the last 2 fights. It will be a night to remember and regarding REPEAT or REVENGE we cannot go against Beterbiev due to his power!!! 

Sources: Talksport