The unique Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 boxing team event takes centre stage tonight in Saudi Arabia.
Top British promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn have put aside their differences to join forces in Riyadh, with both men seeking ultimate bragging rights at the Kingdom Arena, which gets ready to hold another massive event just two weeks after Oleksandr Usyk outpointed Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion this century.
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Each promotional company will put up five fighters for bouts spanning four different weights classes, which were selected back in March.
Queensberry chief Warren chose heavyweight with the first pick before also selecting middleweight, while Matchroom counterpart Hearn opted for featherweight and light-heavyweight before the final selection went to Turki Alalshikh, influential chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia and mastermind behind such huge boxing events, who also went for heavyweight.
The specific fighters were later confirmed at a somewhat bizarre press conference held in London in April, where they initially wore white masks to conceal their identities before removing them one by one as the match-ups were revealed.
Excitement is building ahead of the event, with rumours that a United States vs Mexico version could follow in future amid talk of a blockbuster showdown between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez to headline it.
Even more attention will now be on it after the cancellation of the undisputed light-heavyweight clash between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, which was due to top the bill in Riyadh on the same night, only to be postponed after the latter suffered a knee injury in training.
Bivol is still fighting on the night in a far more low-key affair as he instead defends his long-held WBA title at 175lbs once again against late replacement opponent Malik Zinad, the undefeated Libyan contender.
Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 date, start time and venue
The event takes place tonight, Saturday June 1, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The action is scheduled to begin from 7pm BST, which is 9pm local time and 2pm ET.
Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 fight card
The heavyweight bouts will inevitably take most of the headlines this evening, not least after Hearn and Matchroom pulled off the shock signing of former reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder for the event.
He will look to revive his stalled career and avoid potential retirement after a comprehensive points defeat by Joseph Parker before Christmas as he battles towering 41-year-old Chinese southpaw Zhilei Zhang, who also lost to the resurgent Parker in March to derail his title dreams after back-to-back wins over Joe Joyce.
Daniel Dubois is fighting for Queensberry, going up against unbeaten Croatian Filip Hrgovic in a battle that many thought would be for the full IBF title that was expected to be stripped swiftly from Usyk after his win over Fury, only for the Ukrainian’s subsequent medical absence to add another layer of uncertainty which means this contest will now be for an interim belt instead.
The winner of Dubois vs Hrgovic is likely to end up facing Anthony Joshua for the full IBF title at Wembley Stadium later this year, with the victor there no doubt eyeing a huge showdown with the winner of an anticipated December rematch between Usyk and Fury.
The battle of two thrilling and undefeated middleweights sees Hamzah Sheeraz go up against Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams, while Matchroom’s Raymond Ford defends the WBA featherweight title he won against Otabek Kholmatov in March with a battle against Liverpool’s Nick Ball, denied the WBC strap in a controversial draw with Rey Vargas on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou undercard in March.
At light-heavyweight, Queensberry’s Willy Hutchinson meets Craig Richards, who ended a 21-month absence from the ring in February with a seventh-round stoppage of Boris Crighton.
Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang
Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic
Dmitry Bivol vs Malik Zinad
Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams
Nick Ball vs Raymond Ford
How to watch Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5
TV channel: The event is being shown live via DAZN pay-per-view and TNT Sports Box Office, priced at £21.99.
Live stream: Live coverage for those who have bought the event can be found online via the DAZN website and app or Discovery+ website and app.
Live blog: You can follow every fight from the 5v5 card live with Standard Sport’s blog this evening.
Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 scoring system explained
Two points will be awarded for a knockout win in each fight tonight, dropping to one for a decision victory.
There will be no points awarded at all for draws, while double points are on offer to the respective team captains - Sheeraz for Queensberry and Wilder for Matchroom.
Whichever team has the most points after all five fights have taken place will be declared the winner.z
