The 10 must-see fights in February: Benavidez-Morrell, ‘Tank’ Davis’ return

Get ready for a month of sustained high-quality boxing fights in what looks like a great start to 2025.

The Feb. 22 card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, boasts perhaps the deepest quality in recent boxing history. Topped by the undisputed light heavyweight clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, there is a sound argument to include every one of the supporting bouts on this list of next month’s best fights. But there is also so much more at other events, from light heavyweight to junior featherweight, for fight fans to feast.

Here’s a rundown of the 10 best fights in February, the ones you should not miss:

1. Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, for Beterbiev’s undisputed light heavyweight championship

Feb. 22: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (DAZN PPV)

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Artur Beterbiev stuns Dmitry Bivol via majority decision to become undisputed champ

Artur Beterbiev comes away with a majority decision victory over Dmitry Bivol in front of a packed crowd in Saudi Arabia.

There is no debate about the best fight over the next month: a rerun of the undisputed light heavyweight title clash between Russians Beterbiev and Bivol. Both contributed to a masterpiece last October, an exhibition of the best boxing can offer. There were no knockdowns but both were committed to a relentless attack, demonstrating why they are rightly regarded among the world’s top 10 pound-for-pound fighters.

Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) lost his 100% knockout ratio but gained Bivol’s belt as he was awarded a majority decision (116-112, 115-113 and 114-114), with which Bivol (along with a lot of viewers and pundits) disagreed. Fueled by a sense of injustice, Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) is likely to sustain intensity this time, after allowing Beterbiev to gain some ground in the latter rounds in the previous fight (Beterbiev won the last three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards). Bivol is also the brighter boxer, but Beterbiev has been taken the distance only once in his career (and that was against Bivol). Don’t rule out a KO from Beterbiev — he stopped Callum Smith, Anthony Yarde and Marcus Browne in the second half of those fights — when a fight is close.

But if Bivol, 34, can courageously work on the front foot while scoring on the counter, his output will be too much for Beterbiev, now 40, and he can triumph without debate this time.

Whatever the result, the matchup promises to showcase boxing at its highest quality.

2. David Benavidez vs. David Morrell Jr., for Benavidez’s WBC light heavyweight interim title and Morrell’s WBA “regular” light heavyweight title

Feb. 1: Las Vegas (PBC PPV on Prime Video)

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Benavidez tells Stephen A. how he’ll beat Morrell Jr.

David Benavidez tells Stephen A. Smith why he’s fighting unbeaten David Morrell Jr. Saturday night.

This is the perfect starter for the main course of Beterbiev vs. Bivol a few weeks later.

Why? Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs) and Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) will battle to determine who moves forward to a potential fight against the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2.

Benavidez, who fights out of Miami, must find a way to pierce Cuban southpaw Morrell’s high guard and disciplined boxing if he is to continue a trajectory to become one of the biggest stars in boxing over the next few years.

Benavidez, 27,who became the youngest super middleweight champion ever at 20 years old in 2017, registered a good win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk by unanimous decision in his debut at 175 pounds in June. But this will be his toughest test yet. Both fighters have the arsenal to turn this into a thrilling brawl, but Benavidez’s speed, energy and power could see him win a barnstormer by late stoppage.

3. Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker, for Dubois’ IBF heavyweight title

Feb. 22: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (DAZN PPV)

Dubois looked sensational last time out when he floored English rival Anthony Joshua four times in a fifth-round KO in September. That first title defense came a little over a year after Dubois had been knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk, whom he could meet in a rematch if he defeats Parker.

Despite Dubois’ remarkable revival since losing to Usyk in August 2023, which began with him dropping Joshua all over the canvas at Wembley Stadium, some pundits fancy Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) to box his way to a decision win. The New Zealander has shown how he can subdue big punchers such as Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs), after he stayed clear of Deontay Wilder‘s powerful right hand to win a wide unanimous decision in December 2023 (118-111, 118-110 and 120-108). Parker then shrugged off two knockdowns to earn a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang in March to continue his career revival.

Parker, 33, who reigned as WBO heavyweight champion for two defenses from 2016 to 2018, will use his win over Wilder as a blueprint to overcome Dubois. Both are in good form — Parker has won five consecutive fights since Joe Joyce knocked him out in September 2022, and Dubois, 27, has racked up three stoppage wins in a row since the Usyk setback — and the outcome depends on whether Parker can stick to his strategy, or if Dubois can land cleanly.

4. Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Ismail Madrimov, for the vacant WBC junior middleweight interim title

Feb. 22: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (DAZN PPV)

Ortiz was involved in one of the best fights of 2024 and there are reasons to suggest his clash against Madrimov, his former sparring partner, could be the best of a high-quality card on Feb. 22.

Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) is looking to regain momentum after surviving a scare in his last fight when Serhii Bohachuk dropped him in Rounds 1 and 8 in August. The Texan recovered, but the majority decision win caused some debate, and this is a dangerous assignment for Ortiz. Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), who is from Uzbekistan but trains in California like Bohachuk, gave a good account of himself against Terence Crawford last August when he lost a unanimous decision by narrow scores (116-112, 115-113 and 115-113). Madrimov then withdrew from a December fight with Bohachuk because of illness, leading him to this opportunity against Ortiz.

If Madrimov, 29, shows the same great levels of technique he displayed against Crawford, he could control the fight against Ortiz and avoid turning it into a firefight like Ortiz vs. Bohachuk. For Ortiz, 26, applying sustained pressure can lead him to victory, especially if Madrimov seems reticent about letting his hands go.

This is a fascinating and hard-to-call matchup, which decides the best fighter after Crawford at 154 pounds.

5. Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Lamont Roach Jr., for Davis’ WBA lightweight title

March. 1: Las Vegas (PBC PPV on Prime Video)

This lightweight title defense could tell us if Davis progresses to title unification fights or retires as he says he will.

Davis (30-0, 28 KOs), from Baltimore, is No. 8 in ESPN’s latest pound-for-pound rankings, and the leading 135-pound boxer, but he has yet to fulfill the potential that was being talked about a few years ago by his former promoter, Floyd Mayweather. His boxing career has been punctuated by trouble with the law. In July 2023, he was released from a Baltimore jail after serving 44 days for violating terms of a house arrest, and he fought only once in 2024.

There are potentially big fights and a lot of money to be earned for Davis against fighters such as Vasiliy Lomachenko, Shakur Stevenson, Teofimo Lopez Jr. and Keyshawn Davis — but will we ever get to see them?

Davis, 30, has delivered entertainment in recent fights, such as his stunning eighth-round knockout of Frank Martin in June, and his stuttering career needs a big performance against Roach (25-1-1, 10 KOs).

If Davis is distracted or looking ahead to bigger and better fights, it could be a good time for Roach, 29, the WBA junior lightweight champion from Washington who is moving up to lightweight to challenge three-division world champion Davis.

6. Claressa Shields vs. Danielle Perkins, for the undisputed women’s heavyweight title

Feb. 2: Flint, Michigan (DAZN)

History-maker Shields bids to become undisputed in a third weight division when she challenges Perkins in front of her home fans at Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. Shields, 29, won the WBC heavyweight belt in July when she stopped Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in two rounds, and she is expected to win every round vs. Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) to pick up the other world titles.

Shields (15-0, 3 KOs), a two-time Olympic champion who is now juggling her boxing career with one in MMA (2-1 record), is just levels above the rest in the weight divisions at which she operates, and she has collected world titles in five divisions as a professional (undisputed at middleweight and junior middleweight).

When Shields stepped up to light heavyweight and heavyweight in her last fight, she dominated in a rare KO win. Perkins, 42, who enters the fight with reach and height advantages, should not be a problem for Shields’ skill set, movement and ring IQ.

7. Brandon Figueroa vs. Stephen Fulton, for Figueroa’s WBC featherweight title

Feb: 1: Las Vegas (PBC PPV on Prime Video)

After a ninth-round KO win over Jessie Magdaleno in May, Figueroa looks in the right sort of form to get revenge on Fulton, who beat him by a majority decision in a junior featherweight bout in 2021 where Figueroa claimed “robbery.”

Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs), of Philadelphia, a former junior featherweight titleholder, was less convincing last time out when he edged a split decision over Carlos Castro in his featherweight debut in September, his first fight since being stopped by Naoya Inoue in July 2023 to lose his two junior featherweight belts. We don’t know what threat Fulton, 30, brings at featherweight, but he boxed well to beat Figueroa in their previous fight.

Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs), from Weslaco, Texas, has the edge in power and has looked better since his own move to featherweight. Figueroa’s power, along with his volume of punches and desire for revenge, could force a stoppage win, which would strengthen his status as one of the leading fighters at 126 pounds.

8. Jack Catterall vs. Arnold Barboza Jr., for the vacant WBO junior welterweight interim title

Feb. 15: Manchester, England (DAZN)

It seems odd that Catterall has yet to hold a world title. Despite beating former world champions Josh Taylor, Regis Prograis and Jorge Linares in his past three fights, and being No. 3 in ESPN’s latest junior welterweight rankings, he still finds himself fighting to just earn a title shot.

Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) should book a shot at the WBO belt, currently held by Teofimo Lopez, with a win over Barboza (31-0, 11 KOs) in front of his home fans in Manchester, England, after looking razor sharp recently. But, Barboza, 33, from Los Angeles, is a high-quality unbeaten fighter who unanimously outpointed former champion Jose Ramirez in November, and Catterall might have to slug it out over 12 rounds with him in what could be a memorable all-action fight.

9. Denys Berinchyk vs. Keyshawn Davis, for Berinchyk’s WBO lightweight title

Feb. 14: New York (ESPN/ESPN+)

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Keyshawn Davis comes up with brutal 2nd-round KO in homecoming win

Keyshawn Davis knocks out Gustavo Lemos with a series of brutal knockdowns in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.

This will be Davis’ opportunity to announce himself as a force to be reckoned with in the professional ranks. After a stellar amateur career, including a silver medal at the Olympics in 2021, Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) is favored by most observers and betting sportsbooks (-750 per ESPN BET) to win his first professional world title when he challenges Berinchyk (19-0, 9 KOs), who makes a first defense of his WBO belt after defeating Emanuel Navarrete by split decision in May.

Berinchyk, of Ukraine, is also an Olympic silver medalist (in 2012 he was part of the same Ukrainian Olympic team as Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko) and is more experienced, but recent performances suggest this should be Davis’ crowning moment. Davis, 25, produced a thrilling finish in his previous fight when he swiftly dismantled Gustavo Lemos with counter punches in November. Lemos, who had never been knocked down, was floored three times in a second-round win for Davis, who will again look to capitalize with counter punches against the 36-year-old Berinchyk.

Davis, from Norfolk, Virginia, has been touted as a future star of the sport.

10. Junto Nakatani vs. David Cuellar, for Nakatani’s WBC bantamweight title

Feb. 24: Tokyo (ESPN+)

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Junto Nakatani lands wicked body punch for 1st-round KO

Junto Nakatani secures a first-round victory over Vincent Astrolabio with a well-placed body shot to retain his WBC bantamweight title.

If you’ve not seen Nakatani fight, make a note to check out his third bantamweight title defense. The Japanese fighter, who trains in Los Angeles and at 27 is already a three-division world champion, has stopped 10 of his past 12 opponents with a great variety of finishes. In July, Nakatani knocked out Vincent Astrolabio in the first round with a body shot, and in October, he sent Tasana Salapat down in Round 6 with a flurry of power punches that started with a left hook to the head, before finishing him with another left hand. Cuellar (28-0, 18 KOs), of Mexico, faces an arduous task in his first title fight, even to make it to the final bell (as a +450 underdog per ESPN BET).

At 5-foot-8, Nakatani (29-0, 22 KOs) is tall for a bantamweight and punches a lot harder than an average 118-pound fighter. He is ESPN’s No. 1-ranked bantamweight and a victory would increase demand for him to face his Japanese compatriot Naoya Inoue, the undisputed junior featherweight champion. Inoue, ranked No. 3 in ESPN’s latest pound-for-pound rankings, is scheduled to fight in Las Vegas in the spring, before making his debut in the new capital of boxing, Saudi Arabia, in late 2025.

Expect Nakatani, ranked No. 10 in ESPN’s latest pound-for-pound rankings, to call out Inoue or junior bantamweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, if he achieves a statement win against Cuellar.