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Matchroom vs. Queensberry 5 out of 5, Bivol-Zinad weigh-in results from Riyadh

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Deontay Wilder will undoubtedly look to his forceful right hand to offset his 68-pound weight disadvantage.

The stage is set for the Matchroom Boxing vs. Queensberry 5 on 5. The five-fight set will air live on Saturday on DAZN Pay-Per-View from the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KO) weighed in at 214.6 pounds and was hoping to bounce back after his last outing. The former WBC heavyweight champion weighed in at 213 pounds after an upset loss to Parker on Dec. 23, also at Kingdom Arena.

Zhang weighed 282.7 pounds, almost nine less than his last appearance. The Ring’s No. 5 heavyweight weighed in at a career-heaviest 291.6 pounds following a disappointing loss to Joseph Parker on March 8 at the same venue.

Not only does Wilder represent Matchroom in a fun twist, but he has been named team captain for Saturday’s event. Zhang is fighting for Queensberry for the fourth year in a row.

Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois will fight for the interim IBF heavyweight title.

The status was approved by the sanctioning body on Friday morning as a concession to Hrgovic’s outstanding status as a mandatory challenger.

Croatian Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KO) – representing Matchroom – weighed 247.4 pounds, his heaviest result since September 2020.

London’s Dubois (20-2, 19 KO) was a career-heaviest 245.8 pounds. The former WBA heavyweight champion, signed by Queensberry, weighed 239 pounds at 10vol Jarrell Miller’s knockout round on December 23 here.

Hrgovic has been a mandatory since his victory over Zhang in August 2022 in their IBF qualifying final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Raymond Ford defends his WBA featherweight title against Englishman Nick Ball.

Ford (15-0-1, 8 KO), No. 7, 126, weighed 125.4 pounds when he attempted his first defense. Ball (19-0-1, 11 KO), No. 4, 126, weighed 125.8 pounds in his second title fight. The Briton, promoted by Queensberry, was considered unlucky to settle for a draw in the fight that took place on March 8 in this very place with the WBC featherweight world champion and ring number 3 Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KO).

Ford won the title in dramatic fashion. The 25-year-old southpaw from Camden, Novel Jersey stopped Otabek in the final seconds of their March 2 instant classic in Verona, Novel York. With the victory, Ford became the first American Matchroom player to win a major title.

Queensberry captain Hamzah Sheeraz and Austin “Ammo” Williams are ready for their scheduled 12-round WBC middleweight title eliminator.

Ilford’s Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KO) effortlessly distributed 159.6 pounds on his 180-inch frame. Houston’s Williams (16-0, 11 KO) weighed in at 159.4 pounds while wearing a Cherokee-style headdress during the weigh-in.

Craig Richards from Matchroom and Willy Hutchinson from Queensberry made it to the lightweight heavyweight limit during the fight scheduled for 12 rounds.

Richards (18-3-1, 11 KO) weighed 174.2 pounds in his first fight outside England. Scotsman Hutchinson 17-1 (13 KO) weighed in at 174 pounds in his second fight outside the UK and first outside Europe.

The two exchanged comments throughout the week and literally went head to head at Friday’s weigh-in.

Outside of the 5v5 tournament, Dmitrii Bivol (22-0, 11 KO) will defend his WBA lightweight heavyweight title against undefeated Malik Zinad.

Bivol – co-promoted by Matchroom – weighed in at exactly 175 pounds. Zinad (22-0, 16 KO) weighed 174.2 pounds.

Bivol was originally scheduled to face Artur Beterbiev for the RING/undisputed lightweight heavyweight title in the evening. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO), No. 1, 175, was forced to withdraw due to a torn meniscus.

Zinad answered the call immediately. The 30-year-old Libyan from Malta is starting his first title fight in his career.

Bivol has held the WBA lightweight heavyweight belt since November 2017, and his reign is the second longest among lively male titleholders. He will enter his 12th yearvol fight for the full title in your career.

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Boxing

Tyson Fury can regain strength before his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk

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Image: Tyson Fury Could Bulk Up For Oleksandr Usyk Rematch

Tyson Fury has hinted on social media that he plans to add weight ahead of his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. In Fury’s last fight with Usyk, which he lost by a 12-round split decision on May 18, he weighed in at 262 pounds.

The 36-year-old Fury published several photos on social media. One was a 262-pound version of himself against Usyk, and the other was a 277-pound version of his trilogy against Deontay Wilder on October 9, 2021. Fury spoke favorably. as he looked at 277, which suggests he is looking to add some weight to his frame.

Unfortunately, this may not aid Fury as he is now 36 years elderly and not the 33-year-old who fought Wilder in 2021. Additionally, Fury is not fighting the untechnical Wilder, who on all three occasions looked outclassed in terms of the skill of their fights.

The real problem is that Fury has gotten older and is not the same fighter he was three or four years ago when he fought Wilder. It’s physically impossible for Fury to transform into a 277-pound behometh to beat the hopelessly lost Deontay because he’s aged too much. However, even this version of Fury would have problems against Usyk because he would be too snail-paced and would become the target of a fierce counter-attack.

Passive fighting saved Fury from being knocked out by Usyk last May. That and the referee who gave Fury an eight-count instead of waving the fight away in the ninth round when he was badly injured by Usyk.

Fury is fighting Usyk (22-0, 14 KO) and is a much more talented fighter than him. What’s more, Usyk is lighter on his feet, faster and more agile. So even if Fury reaches 270, it won’t aid him against Usyk. On the contrary, it will snail-paced Fury down, making him an even bigger target for Usyk’s punches than he was in the last fight.

“I was in the shape of my life, but this is not the Gypsy King,” Tyson Fury said on social media about his condition before the fight with Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year, on May 18.

“That’s him, the 19th fighter at 11 pounds,” Fury said of the 277 pounds he weighed for his third fight with Deontay Wilder.

It would be better for Fury to go lighter rather than heavier for his rematch with Usyk, as he will need every bit of speed he can get to prevent a knockout.

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David Jimenez will face Keyvin Lara on December 7 in a fight to return home in Costa Rica

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Costa Rica’s David Jimenez will return home for his next fight.

Jimenez, ranked No. 9 by The Ring in the junior bantamweight division, will put his WBA interim belt (not recognized by The Ring) on ​​display against Keyvin Lara at the Polideportivo de Cartago in Cartago, Costa Rica on Saturday, December 7.

“I’m incredibly excited to fight in my home country and hometown of Cartago,” Jimenez (16-1, 11 knockouts) told The Ring through his manager/promoter Ernesto Sandoval. “I have responsibility for my country, Costa Rica, but it doesn’t distract me. On the contrary, it motivates me to work even harder.

“I will be participating in a training camp in Las Vegas where I expect to continue to improve my level and will be ready for that commitment.”

“Medallita” hopes this will lead to something even bigger in the future.

“For now, I’m focused on this fight, but my eyes are on the current (IBF/WBA) world champion (Fernando Martinez) in my division,” he said. I hope he will have the courage to give me a chance to face him.

Junior middleweight Eduardo Sanchez (9-1-2, 5 KO) and bantamweight Juliana Rodriguez (8-0, 5 KO) will also enter the ring at the Fight Club Promotions gala.

Jimenez competed internationally for Costa Rica as an amateur before turning professional in early 2019. The 32-year-old was able to move relatively quickly. However, it was his victory over Ricardo Sandoval (MD 12) in the WBA title eliminator, in which he scored a knockout in the 11th round, that made the difference and gained recognition.

He lost to Artem Dalakian (UD 12) for the WBA 112-pound title, but has since returned to winning ways with four wins, most notably against the usually robust Rosendo Hugo Guarneros (RTD 7), and most recently moved up to 115 pounds and defeated John Ramirez (UD 12) for the WBA interim title.

Lara (32-6-1, 12 KO) turned professional in 2013. Although the Nicaraguan lost his debut and drew in his second fight, he won 18 in a row to earn himself a chance to fight then-WBA 112-pound belt holder Kazuta Ioka. Although he gave a good impression of himself, he was stopped in the 11th round.

After the rebounds, Lara went to South Africa, where she lost to Yanga Sigqibo (UD 10). The 30-year-old stopped a close fight with Keiver Fernandez (SD 9) and also lost to Norbelto Jimenez (UD 10) and Salvador Juarez (SD 8), although he came back with a victory.

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Martin Bakole will likely appear on the card of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury

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According to his promoter Ben Shalom, Martin Bakole will be rewarded for the sensational summer knockout of Jared Anderson with a fight on the Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury II card.

“Hopefully we’ll have a huge fight to announce in December,” Boxxer’s Shalom told BoxingScene. “Hopefully on the undercard of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which will take place on December 21 in Saudi Arabia.

When asked if his opponent would be Zhilei Zhang, who stopped Deontay Wilder in June, Shalom did not reveal further details.

“I don’t want to say too much,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. It was a shock for Martin. We had to be very patient. For me, he’s the man I’m most afraid of in the division. He’s a guy no one wants to fight.

“The season in Riyad made impossible fights possible. Thank God the Anderson fight happened. It was a clear win on a huge platform. We knew what was coming, but that evening he announced himself to the world. I believe he can beat anyone in the league.”

Congo’s Bakole (21-1, 16 KO), 31, fought for the first time in the United States in August and stopped Anderson in a one-sided demolition, knocking down the then-undefeated American heavyweight prospect three times en route to a fight victory by technical knockout in the fifth round.

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