Following the results of last night’s ‘5 vs 5’ card in Saudia Arabia, the first of its kind, which pitted promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren against one another, it is likely we see AJ vs DuBois in an all-British clash in Wembley later on this year.
The ‘5 vs 5’ card saw five Queensberry fighters lock horns with five Matchroom fighters. The score system saw 1 point given for a decision victory, 2 points for a knockout victory, and double points for each team’s captain. With Queensberry captain Hamzah Sheeraz scoring the knockout against Ammo Williams, Queensberry led 6-0 going into the final two bouts, obliterating any chance of a Matchroom victory.
However, the night only got worse for Hearn, with Daniel DuBois overcoming adversity to stop Filip Hrgovic in the eighth round as a result of cuts opened up around Hrgovic’s eyes.
In the main event, Zhilei Zhang brutally knocked out Matchroom’s captain, Deontay Wilder, in Round 5, potentially ending the career of ‘The Bronze Bomber’.
Elsewhere on the card, Nick Ball took the world title from Raymond Ford in a close fight, and Craig Richards lost to Willy Hutchinson on points in the opening bout.
Ultimately, Queensberry ended the night on a clean sweep, scoring 10-0, only two points off a perfect score of 12, which would’ve been achieved if Ball and Hutchinson had won by stoppage rather than points.
The success of the night has however set up the possibility of future nights with the same concept, and indeed for some other big fights down the line, primarily, AJ vs DuBois.
AJ vs DuBois in September?
Following his career-best victory against ‘El Animal’, Daniel DuBois is now the IBF Interim World Heavyweight champion, and will be mandatory challenger to Oleksandr Usyk.
DuBois has notably already faced the now-Undisputed Ukrainian, and was stopped in Round 9. He has since bounced back with wins against ‘Big Baby’ Jarrell Miller, and now the Croat fighter in Hrgovic.
It is expected now that Anthony Joshua will challenge for the interim belt, in a bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion following his recent run of good form post-Usyk losses. Recently, AJ has faced the likes of Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin, and Francis Ngannou since his career defeats, stopping all but Franklin.
There has already been much news about a potential Saudi-led fight card in Wembley Arena this September, with the date pencilled in for either the 20th or 21st. AJ vs DuBois would be a definite blockbuster main event, with Japanese sensation, Naoya Inoue speculated to be the potential co-main, though this has not yet been confirmed.
AJ vs DuBois is sure to be an exciting fight following the pairs’ recent impressive performances.
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