The anticipated showdown between Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions will feature five fights on the card this summer. The clashes will be contested over four weight classes, with two fights at heavyweight while there will be one each at light-heavyweight, middleweight and featherweight.
Earlier this year, Hearn and Warren – two of the biggest promoters in the world – agreed to a deal with Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh to stage a thrilling battle between Matchroom and Queensbury. The card will feature five fighters from each promotion going toe-to-toe on the same night.
For some time, there was no further news regarding the event. Various fighters were rumoured to be involved, but more details came out on Sunday.
But the weight classes of the five fights havenow been confirmed as heavyweight, light-heavyweight, middleweight and featherweight. Heavyweight will be the only class that features multiple times on the card.
Hearn and Warren have been long-time rivals for years, often firing shots at one another in interviews when their fighters are in action. However, Alalshikh is an enormous boxing fan and managed to ensure the duo agreed to work together to create the fighting extravaganza.
The intervention of Alalshikh means the trio are working together to bring some of the biggest fights and stars of the boxing world to the Middle East. Names like Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Dmitry Bivol, Daniel Dubois and more from Matchroom and Queensberry fought on cards in Saudi Arabia last October when WBC champion Fury won a split decision over former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Earlier this month, Ngannou was obliterated by Joshua as the Brit continues his emphatic return to the world title scene. Joshua, who has impressed with his new trainer Ben Davison, floored Ngannou on two occasions before a powerful right-handed strike sent the Cameroonian crashing to the canvas out cold.
Meanwhile on May 18th, Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will face one another to determine the sport’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. It remains to be seen if Joshua and Fury will be involved in Hearn-Warren’s event.
Hearn and Warren must make the best possible selection to improve their chances of beating out one another. Warren has also suggested he will likely place a significant wager with Hearn as they hope to come out on top.
The dramatic Matchroom and Queensbury five-on-five event could act as a support clash for the undisputed light-heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Bivol, reportedly scheduled for June 1st. Now, fans will wait to see which fighters will represent the promotions in the exciting potential event.