BOXING fans rejoice as there’s a massive night of action coming your way – and it will unfold TONIGHT!
Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom and Frank Warren‘s Queensberry will pit five of their best fighters from each stable against each other on a huge card.
The event will be headlined by Dmitry Bivol’s clash with Malik Zinad, with the five Matchroom vs Queensberry fights to come before it.
Bivol was originally scheduled to fight Artur Beterbiev but an injury to the Russian scuppered those plans.
The biggest fight of the undercard will feature heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Zhlei Zhang squaring off.
Daniel Dubois will also return to action following his victory over Jarrell Miller last year as he faces Filip Hrgovic.
Brit boxers Craig Richards, Hamzah Sheeraz and Nick Ball are all also in action.
What belts are on the line?
Dmitry Bivol and Malik Zinad will be fighting for the WBA light-heavyweight title which is currently held by Bivol.
Raymond Ford and Nick Ball will also fight for the WBA featherweight title.
Matchroom vs Queensberry full card
- Dmitry Bivol vs Malik Zinad – (WBA light-heavyweight title)
- Deontay Wilder (Matchroom) vs Zhilei Zhang (Queensberry)
- Daniel Dubois (Queensberry) vs Filip Hrgovic (Matchroom)
- Raymond Ford (Matchroom) vs Nick Ball (Queensberry) – (WBA featherweight title)
- Craig Richards (Matchroom) vs Willy Hutchinson (Queensberry)
- Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (Matchroom) vs Hamzah Sheeraz (Queensberry)
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When is the Matchrom vs Queensberry card?
- The Matchroom vs Queensberry five-on-five clash will take place TONIGHT – Saturday, June 1.
- The fight will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Ring-walks for the main event can be expected at around 10.30pm UK time.
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- Both DAZN and TNT Sports will broadcast the card in the UK on PPV.
- Both channels have priced the event at £21.99.
- You can subscribe to DAZN in the UK for £9.99-a-month, which commits you to an entire year of action.
- A flexible pass, worth £19.99-a-month, is also available, and you can cancel anytime.
- But DAZN also offers one month for FREE
- You can live stream the action through discovery+ or the DAZN app for DAZN, both of which you can download onto your mobile or tablet device.
Bviol’s record
Dmitry Bivol currently holds a record of 22-0 with 11 knockouts.
He retained his WBA light heavyweight title against Lyndon Arthur in December with a shutout decision victory.
Zinad’s record
Malik Zinad also holds a record of 22-0 but with 16 knockouts.
He comes into the bout on the back of the biggest win of his career so far – a majority decision win over Jerome Pampellone last month.
How will Queensberry vs Matchroom be scored?
There will be five fights to determine whether Queensbury or Matchroom reign supreme.
All of the undercard fights will be scored.
Two points will be awarded for a knockout win, with one point given if it goes to a decision.
No points are awarded for a draw.
Double points are up for grabs for the team captains.
The team with the most points will win overall.
Who are the team captains?
Deontay Wilder captains Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
Meanwhile, Hamzah Sheeraz leads Warren’s Queensbury Boxing.
Will AJ vs Fury actually happen?
SunSport boxing correspondent Wally Downes Jr answers the big questions around Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury finally facing each other...
Could we finally see Fury vs AJ this year?
Simply: Yes.
Before the Saudi takeover of boxing – spearheaded by Turki Alalshikh, would we have seen Fury vs Francis Ngannou, AJ vs Ngannou, Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker, Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn working together and shaking hands for photos?
Simply: No.
The rules, rankings, sanctioning bodies and broadcast and promotional disputes are all irrelevant when this much money is thrown at prize fighting.
How would it work?
It feels like the winner of Fury vs Usyk on May 18 will fight AJ as soon after as possible.
There is a rematch clause in the current deal for Britain’s WBC champ and Ukraine’s WBA, IBF and WBO king to meet and decide the first undisputed ruler for 25 years.
But it seems certain the belts will fragment afterwards – with a string of mandatory challengers due their crack at the four separate belts – so the clamour for AJ vs the winner might be bigger than the demand for a rerun for fewer belts.
Where would it happen?
It feels like every major fight is now going to happen in Saudi Arabia.
But don’t rule out a potential Fury vs Ngannou clash taking place at Wembley stadium.
It seems like the Saudis are keen to eventually host shows in the UK and that fight, at the home of football, would be some debut.
If Usyk topples the Gypsy King then the hype for him to face AJ for a third time will be far less intense.
Why this time?
It feels like we have twice come close to seeing the clash but there were simply too many hurdles and disputes in the way – similar to the way AJ vs Wilder still hasn’t happened.
But with Alalshikh now making Hearn’s Matchroom and Warren’s Queensberry play nice and letting Sky Sports, TNT and DAZN share the shows, there is far less to fight over in the boardroom and loads on to battle for in the ring.
And if Fury beats Usyk and rightfully demands a huge percentage of an overdue Joshua meeting, then the Saudi’s have the cash and the clout to hand him 99 per cent of the pie – to massage his ego and bank balance – and hand AJ as much extra dough as needed to keep everyone sweet.
Who wins?
If Fury sets up an AJ clash by beating Oleksandr Usyk – the mathematics and stats make it clear only a maniac would back Joshua to triumph in the all-English clash.
Usyk dominated AJ over two one-sided fights, on foreign soil.
The Watford man has enjoyed a spike in form and respect since linking up with new trainer Ben Davison but a 20st 6ft 9in Fury – who has just slayed the gap-toothed southpaw – would be almost invincible.
But in any major football derby or cup final the formbook is often aimed out of the window. And perhaps a rejuvenated hungry AJ could be too much for an undisputed and fulfilled Fury to handle.
