Saturday’s boxing showdown in Saudi Arabia has been named by many as the greatest card ever put together.

The card, billed as ‘The Last Crescendo’, is headlined by Artur Beterbiev’s sequel with Dmitry Bivol as they battle it out for the undisputed light heavyweight championship.

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Daniel Dubois, who is fresh off his iconic victory over Anthony Joshua, fights Joseph Parker for the IBF world heavyweight title in the co-main event, while prominent names like Shakur Stevenson and Hamzah Sheeraz also feature on the card.

Boxing has witnessed some of the greatest events of all time, including Mike Tyson‘s back-to-back meetings with Evander Holyfield and Naseem Hamed’s numerous spectacles in the 1990s.

Ahead the stunning event in Riyadh this weekend, renowned broadcaster Adam Smith sat down with talkSPORT.com to ask him what the greatest boxing cards ever are.

5) Here on Business (1997)

Headline: Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelley
Featuring: Kennedy McKinney, Junior Jones, Ricky Hatton and Danny Williams

Casting back 28 years to December 1997, just before Christmas, Smith put two men going to war at no.5.

“Fantastic fire fest and knockdowns aplenty,” Smith said, of the card that saw Prince Naseem Hamed fly to the States and light up New York.

On the undercard of their World Super Bantamweight Championship was Kennedy McKinney and Junior Jones with no love lost.

“Picture the scene: icy cold, almost snowy New York – Ricky Hatton had made the trip over,” Smith added.

Danny Williams and Charles Schofield were also on the bill. Jason Papillion fought Wilson Smith, and the unbeaten Michael Clark challenged Roberto Nunez.

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Two fights stood out for Smith in an atmospherically packed Madison Square Garden where Donald Trump was at ringside, and actor Pierce Brosnan, too.

“I sat next to John McCririck and we watched Kennedy McKinney and Junior Jones go to war,” Smith recalled.

“Kevin Kelley waiting, beckoning Hamed to come in, who delayed his ring walk. And then when Naseem Hamed came in undefeated, he found himself on his backside within the first minute and a half of the fight.

“Seven knockdowns in Hamed against Kelley. All over in the fourth, Naseem Hamed had conquered New York.” 

4) Night of the Undisputed (2003)

Headline: Bernard Hopkins vs William Joppy
Featuring: Cory Spinks vs Ricardo Mayorga, Wayne Braithwaite, John Ruiz and Hasim Rahman

Bernard Hopkins defeated William Joppy via lopsided unanimous decision in 2003 on a ‘stacked card’ Smith views as the fourth-greatest to take place in modern boxing history.

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The iconic bout took place in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as Hopkins fought Joppy for the IBF and WBC middleweight titles.

Wayne Braithwaite faced Luis Andres Pineda on the card too, while Zab ‘Super’ Judah fought Jaime Rangel and Travis Simms took on Alejandro Garcia Hernandez.

“Luis Alberto Perez took on Felix Machado. Cory Spinks against Ricardo Mayorga. Remember him? The cigar smoking Nicaraguan,” Smith added.

“And at heavyweight, John Ruiz against Hasim Rahman.

“All of that packed into the undercard of Hopkins vs Joppy for the middleweight championship of the world. 

“It really was a fight card of incredible depth, of incredible quality. One to remember.”

3) The Full Monty (1997)

Headline: Naseem Hamed vs Jose Badillo
Featuring: Joe Calzaghe vs Chris Eubank, Johnny Nelson and Dirk Wallyn

Smith described Sheffield’s 1997 card billed as ‘The Full Monty’ as ‘phenomenal’ when referring to his third greatest boxing event of all time.

After the success of the 1997 film The Full Monty – set in the ‘Steel City’ – one of Frank Warren’s promotions put on a spectacle for the ages.

A prime Hamed put on a clinical performance against Jose Badillo in the main event of an incredibly loaded card that also featured Joe Calzaghe vs Chris Eubank.

“One of the greatest ever seen in the UK and possibly globally for the quality from start to finish and the names that were on their card,” Smith said.

“Naseem Hamed, probably his most glittering performance ever as he took on Jose Badillo with [Muhammad] Ali shuffles and all sorts – it was Nas at his very, very finest.”

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Calzaghe, who went undefeated for the remainder of his fine boxing career, stepped up onto the grandest stage that night in Sheffield Arena for an epic showdown with Eubank.

He knocked Eubank down in the first, but was forced to go the distance to claim the vacant WBO World Super Middleweight title.

“Joe still tells me that was his most important and hardest night,” Smith claimed.

Johnny Nelson took on Dirk Wallyn for the European title as Paul ‘The Yorkshire Hunter’ Ingle defeated Jon Jo Irwin, and Ryan Rhodes, who was absolutely flying at the time, was victorious over Yuri Epifantsev.

John ‘Buster’ Keaton from Brendan Ingle’s stable lost a cruiserweight fight to Kelly Oliver on that evening in Sheffield, too.

Birmingham-Brazilian heavyweight Pele Reid, deemed a ‘knockout specialist’ by Smith was on the card and stopped Eli Dixon in round nine.

Dean Pithie, the last person to have beaten Hamed as an amateur also fought, while Jason Matthews claimed a seventh-round win over Darren Dorrington.

2) The Eyes of the Tigers & Finally (1996)

Headline: Naseem Hamed vs Remigio Molina (UK) + Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (US)
Featuring: Ronald Wright, Nigel Benn (UK), Scott Welch and Christy Martin (US)

Smith went unorthodox for his penultimate choice and selected the greatest night in boxing history, with two bills in Britain and America on November 9, 1996.

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The Ring Magazine via Getty Images

The night kicked off in Manchester as Hamed, now becoming a regular feature on this list, destroyed Remigio Molina in just two rounds to retain his WBO World featherweight strap.

Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright, who Smith described as ‘one of the most underrated fighters in history’ beat Ensley Bingham, and Nigel Benn bidded farewell to his legendary career with a defeat to Steve Collins.

On the other side of the pond, it was the beginning of arguably the biggest rivalry in boxing history as Tyson took on Holyfield in Las Vegas.

“Remember, Evander Holyfield was given no chance,” Smith said. “Only Ron Borges from the Boston Globe thought he’d win!”

“Everybody thought that Evander Holyfield shouldn’t even be in the ring with Mike Tyson. 

“I had Mike set to destroy him. We know what happened, of course. Evander Holyfield stopped Tyson late on, causing one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.”

Seven months later, Tyson was disqualified for ripping Holyfield’s ear off in their rematch in one of the most controversial boxing moments of al time

Scott Welch was also on the card and Ricardo Lopez, who Smith views as ‘one of the greatest fighters of all time’, defended his WBC world title by stopping Morgan Ndumo.

Christy Martin also defeated Bethany Payne on the same card.

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American actress Sydney Sweeney is set to play Martin in a forthcoming biopic, which portrays the 90s female boxing champ and abuse survivor.

“If you add England to America that night, overnight, November 9, 1996, one of the greatest ever,” Smith concluded.

“Just quality from start to finish on both sides of the pond.”

1) The Last Crescendo (2025)

Headline: Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2
Featuring: Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker, Shakur Stevenson and Hamzah Sheeraz

Smith views this weekend’s fight card headlined by Artur Beterbiev’s rematch with Dmitry Bivol as the greatest boxing event of all time. 

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“Any of the fights could sell out any arenas around the globe,” Smith said ahead of the huge night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“This is for everything, all the treasure in the light heavyweight division,” Smith said, speaking on the main showdown.

“It’s a fantastic division, possibly the hottest in boxing at the moment. But to see Beterbiev and Bivol in a rematch so quickly after their first intriguing tussle.

“Beterbiev won it. Bivol maybe should have done, certainly in my eyes. But they get to do it all over again.”

In the co-main, which should be the main in many eyes, Daniel Dubois takes on Joseph Parker for the IBF World Heavyweight title.

Dubois is fresh off a ‘firecracker performance’ in September at Wembley Stadium, where he shocked the world by knocking out Anthony Joshua.

“Will it be Dubois’ power and his youth early, or will Parker have the last laugh? Tactically astute and maybe taking this on points.” Smith added.

Before that, the ‘beautifully gifted’ Shakur Stevenson faces part-time electrician Josh Padley for the WBC lightweight world title in a storyline straight from a Rocky movie.

Stevenson was set to defend his belt against Floyd Schofield Jr on Saturday night, but the fight was cancelled when Schofield Jr was deemed medically unfit to compete by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC).

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Hamzah Sheeraz will look to become a world middleweight champion for the first time also at the top of the bill.

“He’s the golden boy, really, isn’t he?” Smith said on Sheeraz. “The ambassador for Riyadh. He’s a brilliant communicator.

“Brilliantly skilled inside the ring, but he’s got to overturn Carlos Adames, who’s a tough WBC middleweight champion.”

American Vergil Ortiz Jr, who Smith says is one of his favourite fighters in the sport, is undefeated in 22 bouts and locks horns with Israil Madrimov.

Also on the incredible card, China’s giant Zhilei Zhang will trade heavy leather with Agit Kabayel in a bout Smith describes as an ‘absolute humdinger’.

Meanwhile, Joshua Buatsi faces the biggest test of his career in the battle of the Brits as Callum Smith aims to become a champion once again.

“I’ve dug through many commentary notes and the annals, certainly in my time in boxing, starting in the mid-90s. 

“But I have to say that in first spot, number one for the greatest card ever put together in terms of quality from top to bottom has to be this weekend in Riyadh,” Smith concluded.