Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, has thrown his support behind the idea of a 5 vs 5 tournament, this time with his company against U.S. rival promotion Top Rank Inc., headed by Bob Arum.
Deontay Wilder, in the build-up to his fight with Zhilei Zhang, hinted at retirement if he lost. Wilder not only lost he was also stopped by Zhang in Round 5 of their main event fight atop the '5 vs 5' card. His defeat marked a clean sweep for Queensberry Promotions over Matchroom Boxing, raising massive questions about Wilder's future.
Light-heavyweight contender Willy Hutchinson scored the win of his career by outscoring Craig Richards in Saudi Arabia. Richards was the pre-fight favorite, but Hutchinson boxed well and earned the decision.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn was left licking his wounds after all five of his fighters were defeated in the Matchroom v Queensberry 5 vs 5 event in Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday’s episode of ProBox TV’s “Deep Waters,” the panel discussed the potential and future viability of Saturday’s ‘5 v 5’ Queensberry-against-Matchroom event and cards like it. Analysts Paulie Malignaggi, Chris Algieri and Timothy Bradley Jr. note the significance of outside money in funding the event, the importance of a good showing for the promoters involved and who ultimately wins – fighters, promoters or fans – as a result.
Zhilei Zhang outweighed Deontay Wilder by almost 70lbs ahead of their fight in the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia tomorrow (June 1) night. With 63 knockouts between them, their fight has captured the imagination more than any other on the 5 x 5 bill, that features fighters from Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom boxers against one another.
Filip Hrgovic is currently playing an important part in the Queensberry vs Matchroom ‘5 s 5’ pre-event hype machine but if you caught the 32-year-old Croatian in a quiet moment and if he was totally honest, he would probably admit that he couldn’t care less whether Team Matchroom wins the event. He will just be desperate to beat Daniel Dubois and go home.
On Saturday (June 1) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a unique concept, promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren go head-to-head with teams of five fighters boxing against one another.
When tensions thawed between promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren several months ago, it almost seemed too good to be true.
On paper, Saturday’s heavyweight fight between Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois appears to be a rock-solid, even match-up between top heavyweight contenders.