Rising Perthshire boxing star Luke Bibby is to fight in Saudi Arabia as part of the build-up to Tyson Fury’s heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk at the weekend.
The 24-year-old received a surprise call from trainer Billy Nelson on Thursday last week telling him he’d been invited to Riyadh to take on Englishman Kirk Stevens.
Perth fighter Bibby, who has racked-up seven wins without losing a single round since joining the professional ranks in January, will compete after Fury and Usyk complete their public workouts on Wednesday in a bout which will be streamed live on YouTube.
The encounter is part of a week of events organised in the Middle East ahead of the highly-anticipated duel between Fury and Usyk in Riyadh on Saturday night.
Bibby, who is a member of Perth Railway Boxing Club, told his social media followers he was “buzzing” when he received the call.
Writing on his Facebook page, he continued: “Special thanks to my manager Billy Nelson, Gold Star Promotions and Spencer Brown for making this happen.”
Bibby got a taste of big fight weeks in August when he was part of stablemate Martin Bakole’s party as he took his place on Terence Crawford’s undercard in LA.
That gave him the chance to spar in America, but this time he’ll see action in the ring for real.
This week’s opponent Stevens (34) is an experienced Midlands Area champion so is likely to be a tough test.
Bibby’s last fight was an emphatic win over Nicaraguan Brayan Mairena just under two months ago.
News of the upcoming fight comes less than a week after Bibby visited Perth Prison with Perth Railway Boxing Club secretary Alan Stewart.
They delivered a presentation on Bibby’s career to date, as well as on the history of the club and the dedication and sacrifice it takes to succeed as a professional athlete.
Afterwards, a spokesperson for Perth Railway Boxing Club said: “It was a really successful event, with a highly-engaged audience listening to Luke’s inspiring insights, followed by a demonstration of bag drills and pad work.
“Thanks to Tom Martin and Sheree Rennie from HMP Perth.
“We look forward to working with you again in the future.”