EDDIE HEARN vs Frank Warren confirmed their crazy 5v5 boxing tournament involving Deontay Wilder and Daniel Dubois.
But the tournament will only be the MENU of a highly successful event in Saudi Arabia.
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The five epic contests will take place in the build-up to the mouth-watering undisputed light heavyweight title fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev on June 1 in Riyadh.
Before Bivol vs. Beterbiev, there will be five incredible fights as Hearn and Warren face off to prove who has the better roster of fighters.
In the tournament, both sides will choose a captain, whose victory in the tournament will be worth two points.
Wins by other fighters will count as one, although this amount will be doubled in the event of a knockout or technical knockout.
Heavyweights Wilder and Zhilei Zhang will fight before the main event, with both talents bouncing back from losses to Joseph Parker.
Before that, Daniel Dubois, who controversially lost to Oleksandr Usyk last year despite downing the Ukrainian with what was considered a low blow, will face undefeated Croatian talent Filip Hrgovic.
The winner gets to fight for the title with Anthony Joshua, with Oleksandr Usyk’s IBF title being taken from him.
Hrgovic has been a mandatory challenger for the IBF title, and whoever wins the clash with Dubois could face AJ for the title.
At middleweight, one fighter will lose his unbeaten record when Britain’s Hamzah Sheeraz takes on American Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams – with both fighters yet to lose a fight.
Elsewhere on the card, Willy Hutchinson faces Craig Richards and Nick Ball faces Ray Ford.
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CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Speaking after the reveal, Dubois said: “I’m very confident, I’m ready to prove myself.
“We’ve been fighting for a while and he keeps talking about it, but people change. I’m a different animal now.”
Hrgovic responded: “I hope he has changed because otherwise he will only last a few rounds.
“The sparring wasn’t good for him, so I hope he’s changed.”
Years ago, the idea of Hearn and Warren teaming up to do these fights would have been impossible due to a fierce rivalry.
But the two put their differences aside after Middle Eastern powerbroker Turki Alalshikh brought the two together.
Before the supercard announcement, Hearn told SunSport: “We were talking about the 5v5 and he said, ‘I’m not going to miss it!’ And I said, ‘I’m not going to miss this!’
“I’m walking into that locker room and making Churchillian speeches to my fighters, potentially getting bonuses and saying, ‘Listen, you have to win this fight.’
“That’s why we want the fights to be pickem, so we’re sitting ringside, very excited.
“The opportunities for our fighters are incredible and that’s the main thing.”
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Will AJ vs Fury really happen?
SunSport boxing correspondent Wally Downes Jr answers the big questions about Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury finally facing off…
Could we finally see Fury vs AJ this year?
Simply: Yes.
Before the Saudi takeover of boxing – led 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, ratings, sanctioning bodies, and promotional and broadcast disputes are irrelevant when so much money is invested in prize fights.
How would this work?
It looks like the winner of Fury vs Usyk on May 18th will fight AJ as soon as possible.
There is a rematch clause in the current deal for Britain’s WBC champion and Ukraine’s WBA, IBF and WBO king to meet and decide the first undisputed ruler in 25 years.
But it seems certain that the belts will fragment afterwards – with a series of mandatory challengers due to their break into the four separate belts – so the clamor for AJ against the winner may be greater than the demand for a repeat for fewer belts.
Where would this happen?
It seems like all the big fights are going to happen in Saudi Arabia now.
But don’t rule out a possible clash between Fury and Ngannou at Wembley Stadium.
It seems the Saudis are keen to eventually hold shows in the UK and this fight, in the home of football, would be a first.
If Usyk takes down the Gypsy King, the excitement for him to face AJ for a third time will be much less intense.
Why this time?
It feels like we’ve twice come close to seeing the showdown, but there have simply been too many obstacles and disputes in the way – similar to how AJ vs Wilder hasn’t happened yet.
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’s a lot less to fight about in the boardroom and a lot to fight about in the ring.
And if Fury beats Usyk and legitimately demands a huge percentage of Joshua’s delayed meeting, then the Saudis will have the money and influence to hand him 99 percent of the pie – to massage his ego and bank balance – and hand AJ just as much extra batter as needed to keep everything sweet.
Who wins?
If Fury sets up an AJ showdown by defeating Oleksandr Usyk – the maths and statistics make it clear that only a maniac would back Joshua to triumph in the all-English showdown.
Usyk dominated AJ in two one-sided fights on foreign soil.
The Watford man has enjoyed a rise in form and respect since linking up with new trainer Ben Davison, but a 20st 6ft 9in Fury – who just killed the left-hander with gaping teeth – would be nigh-invincible.
But in any big football derby or cup final, form is often thrown out the window. And perhaps a hungry and rejuvenated AJ might be too much for an undisputed and accomplished Fury.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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