Heavyweight rivals Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will fight on the same blockbuster card at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena on December 23 as a prelude to them finally meeting in 2024.
The event, billed as "Day of Reckoning", was announced at a London press conference on Wednesday and is the latest spectacular boxing show of Riyadh Season, the kingdom’s annual programme of arts, culture and entertainment.
Joshua (26-3), a two-time heavyweight champion, takes on the dangerous southpaw contender Otto Wallin while Wilder, the former WBC champion, faces New Zealand’s ex-WBO belt holder Joseph Parker.
Should they both be successful it is expected that Joshua and Wilder will finally meet next after many years of circling one another.
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"I know where I want to go, what I want to do," said Joshua. "I am sticking to that plan. I am a man of my word, I stand firm on what I believe and I believe I am going to be three-time heavyweight champion of the world.
"My first stop to that, getting in the rankings, is putting on a demolition job against Otto Wallin."
Asked if he sees himself fighting Wilder after Wallin, he said: "Yeah, I do. Good luck to him but I 100 per cent see us fighting."
The eight-bout December 23 card replaces the postponed heavyweight unification between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Fury sustained unexpected punishment in his "Battle of the Baddest" showdown with ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou in Riyadh on October 28.
A press conference has been called for Thursday to announce a new date for Fury-Usyk, with February 17 thought to be most likely. That raises the possibility of Saudi Arabia cementing its status as the new home of heavyweight boxing by potentially hosting both Usyk-Fury and Joshua-Wilder in the first half of 2024.
First up for Joshua is Wallin, however, and this event brings the London 2012 gold medallist back to Saudi Arabia for a third time following two previous world title bouts in the kingdom. The 34-year-old regained the WBA, WBO and IBF titles from Andy Ruiz in December 2019 before dropping a rematch against Usyk in Jeddah last summer having lost the belts to the Ukrainian in London in September 2021.
Wallin (26-1), a New York-based Swede trained by Joey Gamache, is best known for giving Fury one of his toughest nights and is in good form having claimed a unanimous decision over Russia’s Murat Gassiev in September.
The 32-year-old, who twice lost to Joshua in the amateur ranks, clearly angered the Briton by claiming his opponent had "peaked in 2018" and the two later shared a bad-tempered face off.
The heavy-hitting Wilder, who has 42 knockouts in 43 wins with two losses and one draw, will be fighting in Saudi Arabia for the first time. The 38-year-old American, who won the WBC crown in 2015 and successfully defended it 10 times, has only fought once since back-to-back defeats by Fury in 2020 and 2021. That was a one-round demolition of Finland’s Robert Helenius last October.
Parker (33-3), meanwhile, returned to form with a one-sided three-round beating of Canada’s Simon Kean on the Fury-Ngannou show.
The card features four further intriguing heavyweight clashes as former world title challenger Daniel Dubois and Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller square off, as will fellow giants Frank Sanchez and Junior Fa, while Filip Hrgovic battles Mark de Mori and Arslan Makhmudov takes on Agit Kabayel.
Also in action is Russia's undefeated WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (21-0), who will take on Britain's Lyndon Arthur. Bivol hasn't fought since comprehensively outclassing Gilberto Ramirez at Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena in October 2022.
Australia's rising star Jai Opetaia (23-0), the IBF cruiserweight champion, completes the line-up with a defence of his title against Britain's Ellis Zorro (17-0).
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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