THE battle of the boxing promoters will see Frank Warren’s Queensberry and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom face off in Saudi Arabia, on a five-versus-five fight card.
The boxing blockbuster will operate as a tournament, showcasing some of the sport’s most-anticipated matchups, on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight bout between Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol.
The stacked card will also see the return of Deontay Wilder, after signing to join Matchroom’s stable for the event, following his disappointing defeat to Joseph Parker in December.
All five pairings were announced at Monday’s press conference, ahead of the scheduled June 1st event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Who will be fighting?
- Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
- Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang
- Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic
- Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball
- Craig Richards vs Willy Hutchinson
- Austin Williams vs Hamzah Sheeraz
What can be expected?
The 5 vs 5 tournament format will see a point scoring system in place, with one awarded for a decision win and two for a stoppage victory, as well as doubled bonus points on offer for the team captains.
Queensberry has selected undefeated middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz (19-0) to lead his team as he takes on the also unbeaten Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (16-0).
Warren’s captain enters the bout following a punch perfect win over former title challenger, Liam Williams, to earn his number one WBO ranking and solidify his position in the division at only 24-years-old.
On the other hand, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom has opted for new signing Deontay Wilder (43-2-1) to produce a potentially double-point scoring performance.
Despite being a free agent, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ will represent Matchroom as their wildcard pick in a heavyweight matchup against China’s Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1) in what he’s described as his “last chance”, revealing that he has nothing to lose.
The historic night of boxing, as part of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Riyadh Season’, will see the promotional rivals compete in the ultimate game of chess, with many fighters hoping to call ‘checkmate’.
by Chloe Boyne (@ChloBoyne)
