Turki Alalshikh confirmed a loaded Riyadh Season card today, with David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde headlining for Saudi Arabia in November. On the undercard, Abdullah Mason battles Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight title, and Brian Norman Jr. defends his WBO welterweight title against Devin Haney.
Fans are overwhelmingly in favor of the card because it’s one of the better ones. It’s a step above Turki’s July 12th card in Queens and the May 2nd event at Times Square.
Benavidez-Yarde Undercard: Haney vs. Norman
- David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde: Headliner
- Brian Norman Jr. vs. Devin Haney: Chief support
- Abdullah Mason vs. Sam Noakes
Haney (32-0, 15 KOs) is challenging the unbeaten Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) for his WBO welterweight title. It’s a fight that was announced last week, and there’s already a lot of buzz about the match-up. There’s arguably more interest than in the fights on the July 12th card in Queens, New York.
It had been thought that Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) vs. Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) would be on the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford undercard on September 13th. With that event, Turki believes it doesn’t need a stacked undercard.
Benavidez-Yarde does, because that’s not a fight that fans have a lot of interest in seeing. Yarde (17-3, 14 KOs) has failed in his two tries at fighting for world titles. Yarde does have good power. His problem is that he fades early in his fights and is vulnerable.
Many fans have given up on him, seeing him as a lost cause. The selection of Yarde by Turki was likely done to attract interest from UK fans because the card only has one other Brit, Sam Noakes.
A battle of undefeated fighters for the world title!
Ring ambassador Abdullah Mason will collide with Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight title, as part of the MASSIVE Riyadh Season event in November.🥊🔥 pic.twitter.com/NJsBpSNKfL
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) July 4, 2025