MATCHROOM VS QUEENSBERRY - FOUR WEIGHTS AND FIVE FIGHTS
Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn and, of course, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh have announced the weight categories for the highly anticipated Queensberry vs Matchroom 5 vs 5.
The announcement video was succinct, scripted, and light-hearted - yet underneath the jovial ripostes between Warren and Hearn was an undertone of real competitiveness.
In the eight-minute clip, we were given every detail other than the 10 representing fighters.
There was a disappointing lack of surprise when it came to the weight categories, which does lend itself to the inability of promoters and journalists alike to keep their mouths shut.
I know, us included.
Anyway, time to run through the picks and give our take on what we think we might see.
Frank Warren - Heavyweight
A brilliant start, and potentially a brilliant fight to go with it.
Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic is red hot rumour mill stuff at the moment. Yes, it is a fight fraught with danger for IBF number one Hrgovic, but here is why it actually makes sense.
June 1st is just two weeks after Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed showdown. For the winner, the lucrative options include a rematch, or inviting Anthony Joshua to the party.
It doesn’t include Hrgovic.
Therefore, the IBF could strip the undisputed champion pretty swiftly for not facing the Croatian, opening the door for a potential vacant world title fight between he and Dubois.
Eddie Hearn - Featherweight
Hearn has a new featherweight world champion, and Warren should have one.
A fight between WBA champion Ray Ford and WBC should-be champion Nick Ball would have been a welcome addition to the card, but Ford himself is nursing an inconvenient cut.
A deep slit under the left eye was caused by a head clash in his world title win over Otabek Kholmatov earlier this month.
Fight night is a fair distance away but with promotional pride at stake, Hearn and Ford will take no unnecessary risk.
New IBO super-bantamweight champion Liam Davies has expressed his desire to move up to 126lbs and ‘smash to bits’ an ex-Queensberry fighter in Josh Warrington.
Warrington, however, seems still to be chasing his rematch with Leigh Wood.
Whatever we are to get, it will no doubt be an absorbing combination.
Frank Warren - Middleweight
‘Traditionally the British middleweight division IS the division’ said Warren, but I think we are all aware that there might be a bit of cross-the-pond involvement in this one.
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Ammo Williams is a thriller. Ever since the first mention of the 5 vs 5 format, these two have been linked, and both will be more than prepared for their meeting.
Eddie Hearn - Light-Heavyweight
Now this one is a brilliant pick. Craig Richards has all but confirmed to us that he is Hearn’s choice, and there is one suitor in particular under the Queensberry banner that undoubtedly works.
Mr Anthony Yarde.
Both have fought valiantly in defeat at elite level and are in waiting for the next opportunity to show their worth - the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol is exactly the place to do that.
Turki Alalshikh - Heavyweight
We should have known. The man is, after all, a heavyweight obsessive.
So, an extra dip into the sport’s most storied division will wrap up this Queensberry vs Matchroom duel, however with this one there is an extra twist - ANY fighter is available.
A slight cop out when it comes to the 5 vs 5 narrative, but also a sign that Turki Alalshkih is confident he can just phone up any of the big guys and get them to lay in his lap.
Zhilei Zhang vs Deontay Wilder has been rumoured, and with Zhang under contract at Queensberry, this ‘wild card’ rule seems to have been made to accommodate Wilder.
Both men are coming off the back of slow performances, but Wilder might well be a favourite here after Zhang blew his tank and failed to finish a stubborn Joseph Parker last time out.
Whisper it quietly, but Matchroom’s best chance of a point could be with the man Hearn labelled an ‘idiot’ only weeks ago.
Only in boxing.
Oscar Bevis
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