At the time of reporting, just five fights remained, including the co-main event where WBO super middleweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz defends his title for the first time and the headliner featuring Anthony Joshua‘s comeback; the card is nearing its final stretch.

Out of the seven bouts that have concluded, five ended inside the distance. For a card that, barring a few names including those of AJ, Sheeraz, and Josh Kelly, does not feature any prominent figures, that’s a solid output. Despite that, the Matchroom-Queensberry card currently unfolding at the Jeddah Superdome in Riyadh has drawn scathing criticism from fans. Most have been unhappy with the pace of the event.

The card, billed as “The Comeback,” was reportedly scheduled to start at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. It’s now 3 p.m., and three fights still remain on the main card before the co-main event and main event. That means only seven bouts have taken place in roughly five and a half to six hours.

As for the welterweight bout between Ziyad Al Maayouf and Frank Lucian Mano, its status still remains uncertain.

Leaving aside that bout, the numbers suggest one fight every forty minutes to an hour. Boxing events are notoriously slow, especially lengthy discussions taking up time during live streams. Still, even by those standards, this pace appears to be a bit of a stretch.

The card had already faced other criticism. A section of fans questioned the matchup between Anthony Joshua and Kristian Prenga, with even Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn, who promotes tonight’s card, reportedly pointing out that Prenga remains unproven at the elite level.

Beyond the matchmaking concerns, the biggest issue for many fans was the extra pay-per-view fee that DAZN charged, despite the limited number of prominent names on the card.

Here’s how some of the fans reacted to the pace of the card.

Fans fume as Anthony Joshua card crawls toward the main event

“I really love this PPV format—for more than two hours now they’ve been fighting for five minutes and then padding the other 45 minutes with nonstop chatter,” one user wrote. Considering the fight is taking place in Riyadh, which, despite catching up under Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, still remains a non-traditional boxing hub, the organizers likely decided to include extended analysis that caters to the more casual fans.

Given that a large portion of the spectators would be local, the organizers may have wanted to explain the finer points of the sport and provide in-depth analysis.

Taking into account the controversy surrounding the PPV fee, one fan wrote bluntly, “DAZN really does take the pi**. Anthony Joshua v Kristian Prenga is not a pay-per-view event. Couple that with the fact that Spence v Tszyu is a completely separate PPV directly after. Boxing fans expected to pay £50 to watch a night of boxing.”

Another fan added, “Dev wins. Now we need at least 45 minutes of filler.” For context, while the event is promoted by Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions, it is taking place as part of Riyadh Season, which is known to stage dance and musical programs during boxing events.

One notable example is the October 2024 first fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. The card featured the undisputed light heavyweight championship fight and also included the Riyadh Season grand opening, with Missy Elliott, Ciara, and Busta Rhymes delivering a hip-hop concert following a light show in the middle of the card.

Fans, however, remained unconvinced. “This is the worst pacing I have seen,” one stated, while another added, “This pacing for #JoshuaPrenga is absolutely ridiculous.”

Given that the fight marks AJ’s comeback, the organizers may have wanted to build a narrative around it. Beyond that, with Sheeraz and Kelly also defending their super middleweight and light middleweight titles, respectively, the card features two additional title fights. 

Considering those aspects, the organizers may have wanted to delve into each fight in detail, giving fans a complete breakdown of what was at stake. Whether that approach could have been handled differently, however, remains a big question.