Daniel Dubois v Filip Hrgović and Deontay Wilder v Zhilei Zhang: heavyweight boxing – live | Boxing
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Key events
Dmitry Bivol defended his WBA light heavyweight title in style. After several rounds in which he curiously seemed reluctant to let go of his hands, the Russian cornered Zinad with a flurry of 12 unanswered punches until referee Howard Foster intervened at 2:06 of the sixth round. This is Bivolu’s first win at the distance since 2018, ending a nine-fight knockout streak, and will only fuel anticipation for his four-belt unification bout with Artur Beterbiev.
It would be remiss not to mention another notable battle currently taking place under the Kingdom Arena lights. Unrelated to the 5v5 contest, Russia’s Dmitry Bivol defends his WBA light heavyweight title against Libya’s Malik Zinad. The undefeated Buffalo, who has been a constant on the pound-for-pound charts ever since 2022 win over Canelo Alvarezwas scheduled to fight Artur Beterbiev tonight in a hotly anticipated four-belt unification fight for the undisputed title at 175lbs, but Beterbiev was forced to withdraw due to a torn meniscus sustained in training camp last month.
As a backup opponent called up on a month’s notice in his first world title challenge against one of boxing’s most talented technicians, Zinad is a 14-1 underdog on merit. He’s already been attacked once, thanks to a three-punch combo from Buffalo, highlighted by a crisp left hook. They’re in the fourth round and while Zinad made things a little more competitive than expected, it looks like it’s little more than a matter of time against a far more busy and accurate Buffalo.
Liverpool Ball becomes Great Britain’s second current men’s world champion
A special mention for Great Britain’s latest world champion: Liverpool’s Nick Ball. The 27-year-old Merseysider won a razor-thin split decision over Raymond Ford to capture Ford’s WBA featherweight title in a highly entertaining back-and-forth that surely calls for a rematch.
Two judges scored it 115-113 for Ford, while the third scored it the same margin for his American foe.
“He is a healthy man and a class boxer. I had to dig deep to get the belt,” said Ball, a world champion in his second attempt after being cruelly denied in a controversial March draw with Mexico’s Rey Vargas.
“I’m made up. I must be twice [champion] But it’s not like that. Now I’m the champion, so it doesn’t really matter,” added Ball.
The Liverpool man becomes England’s second active men’s world champion, joining WBO heavyweight title holder Chris Billam-Smith.
“That’s how you recover and come back,” Ball said. “That’s a real champion and that’s who I am now.”
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh for our detailed coverage of Deontay Wilder-Zhilei Zhang and Daniel Dubois-Filip Hrgovićseveral compelling heavyweight bouts that will help shape both the short-term and long-term future of boxing’s glamorous division.
These are the final two fights on a stacked card called “5 vs. 5: Matchroom vs. Queensberry,” where top British promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, once bitter rivals, put their respective stables on the line for bragging rights and a reported $3 million payday in addition to the fighters’ individual (and undisclosed) wallets.
According to the rules of the format, each boxer will earn one point for a decision victory or two for a knockout with no points awarded in the event of a draw. The team captains – that’s Wilder for Matchroom and Sheeraz for Queensbury – will double their individual points. The team with the most total points wins. A small score error in the upper left corner of the telecast tracks the current score all night. (We’d venture to guess it’s pretty meaningless to all but the most hardcore British fight fans, but a rare team concept, perhaps the most individual of sports, is nothing short of a conversation starter.)
Queensbury currently walks the Matchroom with a 6-0 margin with the two feature attractions. Here are the fight-by-fight results so far:
• Willie Hutchinson UD 12 Craig Richards QB 1-0 MR (QB 1-0 MR)
• Nick Ball SD 12 Raymond Ford QB 1-0 MR (QB 2-0 MR)
• Hamza Sheeraz TKO 11 Austin Williams QB 4-0 MR (QB 6-0 MR)
We have one more battle coming up that isn’t part of the 5v5 competition (more on that in a bit). Then it’s Dubois vs. Hrgovic and Wilder vs. Gian, in that order.
Brian will be here soon. Meanwhile here’s the big boxing news from the last 24 hours.
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