5 minutes Deontay Wilder was a surprise inclusion in the Matchroom Boxing team for their highly-anticipated five-versus-five card against Queensberry Promotions in Saudi Arabia
Deontay Wilder was a surprise inclusion in the Matchroom Boxing team for their highly-anticipated five-vs-five card against Queensberry Promotions in Saudi Arabia on June 1st. The Bronze Bomber will take on Zhilei Zhang on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight contest between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Nothing To Lose For Wilder
Upon the announcement, Wilder stated, “We'll see if I've got it or not. This fight I'm holding it as my last dance, my last chance
I lost my love and passion for this business. I lost my hunger for so many different reasons. I'm not playing around this time. I've got nothing to lose."
Is Father Time beginning to catch up with 38-year-old Wilder? The Bronze Bomber remained unbeaten through his first 43 professional fights but has now lost three of his last four. Wilder is coming off a defeat to a resurgent Joseph Parker whilst Parker has since returned to the ring to defeat Wilder’s June 1st opponent, Zhilei Zhang.
There is so much at stake on June 1st for both Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Zhang had held the WBO’s interim heavyweight title prior to that loss to Parker but he’ll be 41 by the time of the Wilder fight and it does seem like a case of now or never if ‘Big Bang’ is to earn a world title fight.
The Full Undercard
The full lineup for June’s card was confirmed at a press conference on Monday and it has delivered some mouthwatering contests. Wilder v Zhang is not the only heavyweight bout on the card with Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois set to meet in a final eliminator for the IBF world title. Hrgovic has a 17-0 record with his most notable victory at UD win over Zhilei Zhang whilst Dubois took his professional record to 20-2 with an 10th round stoppage win over Jarrell Miller on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia last December.
There’s a world title bout between two unbeaten featherweights on the card as WBA king, Raymond Ford represents Matchroom against Queensberry’s Nick Ball. Nick Ball will be back in Saudi Arabia just three months on from his controversial draw against WBC featherweight champion, Rey Vargas. Whilst this offers Ford a first defence of the title he won by TKO in March.
Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams is seen by many as the next big thing in American boxing and he will represent Matchroom in the middleweight division against unbeaten WBC Silver and Commonwealth champion, Hamzah Sheeraz. The 24-year-old Sheeraz, earned a career best win in February as he blasted through former world title challenger, Liam Williams in just one round.
The final fight of the night is an all-British affair at cruiserweight where Scotland’s Willy Hutchinson will represent Queensberry against Matchroom’s Croydon-born fighter, Craig Richards. Hutchinson is forging a decent pro career having become one of Scotland’s best amateur boxers whilst Richards has a lot more professional experience having unsuccessfully fought for a world title against Dimitry Bivol and headlined a card against Joshua Buatsi at the O2 Arena.
How Will 5 vs 5 Work?
Queensberry and Matchroom go head-to-head in this 5 vs 5 event with the winner determined by a simple points-scoring system across the five bouts. Each fight winner will be given one point for a win by decision or two points for a knockout victory. Each team has appointed a team captain with their points earned doubled. Hamzah Sheeraz will captain the Queensberry team whilst Eddie Hearn has selected Deontay Wilder as the Matchroom team captain. Given how competitive all six bouts are expected to be, the boxing betting markets are likely to be a red-hot topic of conversation in the buildup to June 1st.
The Main Event: Bivol v Beterbiev
Whilst the excitement surrounding this unique boxing event has focussed on the Queenberry v Matchroom 5 vs 5 event, the main event is arguably the biggest fight in boxing right now. Dimitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev will meet with the title of undisputed world light-heavyweight champion on the line.
Dimitry Bivol unified the light-heavyweight division last December by adding Lyndon Arthur’s IBO title to the WBA (Super) title he had already defended five times. Notable wins for Bivol include world title defences over Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez.
Beterbiev heads to Saudi Arabia for the first time as the number one ranked light-heavyweight in the world. Beterbiev has successfully defended his IBF title eight times whilst also winning the WBC and WBO titles along the way in unification bouts against Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Joe Smith Jr.
Interestingly, Bivol’s last nine fights have all been won by unanimous decision whilst the hard-hitting Beterbiev has won all 20 of his professional fights inside the distance.
Fight Odds
(courtesy of Betfair)
| Artur Beterbiev | Draw | Dimitry Bivol |
|---|---|---|
| 10/11 | 16/1 | 10/11 |
| Zhilei Zhang (Queensberry) | Draw | Deontay Wilder (Matchroom) |
|---|---|---|
| 4/9 | 16/1 | 9/5 |
| Hamzah Sheeraz (Queensberry) | Draw | Austin Williams (Matchroom) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | 16/1 | 13/8 |
| Nick Ball (Queensberry) | Draw | Raymond Ford (Matchroom) |
|---|---|---|
| 6/4 | 16/1 | 8/15 |
| Daniel Dubois (Queensberry) | Draw | Filip Hrgovic (Matchroom) |
|---|---|---|
| 9/4 | 16/1 | 4/11 |
Final Word From The Promoters
Matchroom chairman, Eddie Hearn, commented,
"The best sport stems from the greatest rivalries. And on June 1st, I am confident Matchroom will reign supreme over Queensberry. I have assembled a team of elite world beaters who are ready to do the business. Losing isn’t an option.
"With the brilliant Dmitry Bivol challenging for the undisputed light-heavyweight championship, this is without doubt one of the best boxing cards of all time - and we’ve already seen a few contenders in Riyadh, all thanks to the outstanding vision of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. I’m sure this unprecedented five-versus-five will be the first of many duels with Frank Warren and his team - and may the best man win!"
Queensberry's Frank Warren, added,
"The night of June 1st will mark a thrilling and spectacular return to Riyadh, where the pride and reputation of two companies will be at stake in the 5 vs 5 concept that neither promoter dares to contemplate losing!
"Thanks to the vision of H.E. Turki Alalshikh, we can now look forward to unprecedented events such as this on a regular basis and nights at the Kingdom Arena are now an established and welcome fixture in the world boxing diary. Our five selected champions are ready to rule in Riyadh."
