Cordina, Chapman and Massey to fight for world titles

British contenders appear on a stacked undercard of Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in October

British trio Joe Cordina, Raven Chapman and Jack Massey will all challenge for world titles on 12 October in Saudi Arabia.

Welshman Cordina faces WBC champion Shakur Stevenson in an ambitious step up to lightweight to take on one of the world's most talented undefeated fighters.

Chapman will faces fellow undefeated fighter and defending champion Skye Nicolson for the WBC featherweight title.

Jack Massey, 31, will face Australian IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia.

The bouts will take place on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight world-title fight between Russians Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Also on the undercard is the highly anticipated heavyweight rematch between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke.

Wardley, 29, will defend his title against Olympian Clarke, 33, after their thrilling first fight ended in a split-decision draw in March.

It is the second time a British heavyweight title fight takes place in the Saudi capital, after Wardley beat David Adeleye in October 2023.

Ipswich's Wardley has won 19 fights having competed just four times on the unlicensed white-collar scene before turning pro.

Clarke, from Burton-upon-Trent, captured bronze at Tokyo 2020 and has won eight pro bouts.

Also in action on the night is Chris Eubank Jr, who takes on Kamil Szeremeta in a middleweight bout, and light-heavyweight prospect Ben Whittaker against Liam Cameron.

Big British underdogs against undefeated champions

Chapman, Cordina and Massey will be big underdogs in their respective bouts.

Cordina lost his unbeaten record and super-featherweight world title to Anthony Cacace in May.

New Jersey fighter Stevenson, 27, has won world titles in three weight classes in the space of 22 bouts.

Chapman takes a big step up in level of opponent in her first world title challenge.

The 30-year-old faces Australia's Nicolson, who has sliced through most of her competition in 11 fights and will defend her WBC belt for the third time.

The contest is also the most high-profile women's bout to take place in the Kingdom since Ramla Ali and Crystal Garcia Nova competed in the the first professional women's boxing match held in Saudi Arabia in 2022.

Saudi Arabia has faced repeated accusations of using boxing to improve its international image, otherwise known as sportwashing, as the country continues to play down major concerns about their human rights record.

Massey is likely to be the biggest unfancied contender up against knockout artist Opetaia.

Opetaia is 25-0 with 22 knockouts and has already made short work of English contenders in the last year, knocking out Jordan Thompson and Ellis Zorro in quick fashion.

Massey has two losses on his record and stepped up to heavyweight in 2023 before securing a big win over cruiserweight contender Isaac Chamberlain in June.