LONDON, England — When Filip Hrgović stopped 21-year-old phenom Moses Itauma in the ninth round at London’s O2 Arena on August 29 to capture the vacant IBF heavyweight world championship, it stood out not only for its drama inside the ring, but for its commercial structure outside of it. In an era where Saudi capital has become synonymous with elite heavyweight matchmaking, the summer’s most consequential heavyweight title clash went ahead as a purely traditional British promotion.
Promoted independently by Frank Warren’s Queensberry and broadcast on DAZN PPV, the event featured Riyadh Season branding exclusively across the sponsor bar rather than operating as an official Saudi-staged showcase. The deliberate separation highlights mounting commercial frictions behind the scenes, where Warren has entered a reported £1 billion ($1 billion) pre-litigation dispute against Saudi events firm Sela and TKO Group over alleged breach of contract and exclusivity agreements surrounding the launch of Zuffa Boxing.
Despite friction with legacy promoters, Saudi Arabia’s autumn combat calendar remains packed. The Sela-TKO joint venture, Zuffa Boxing, heads to London’s Copper Box Arena for Zuffa Boxing 11 on September 26. In the Kingdom, Riyadh Season will host Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez against undefeated WBC interim champion Christian Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight world title at Riyadh’s ANB Arena on October 31 (rescheduled from September 12). Meanwhile, negotiations for the long-awaited Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua domestic clash continue targeting late 2026, though both the official date and venue remain unconfirmed.