The Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5 vs 5 fight card from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia lived up to the promotion, and delivered shocking upsets and stunning knockouts, capped off by the brutal KO of former WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder by Zhilei Zhang in the main event.
The original headliner WBA light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol put on a dominant performance against late replacement Malik Zinad. Bivol who was originally scheduled to fight fellow undefeated light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in a battle for the undisputed crown, stopped Zinad in the sixth round.
Bivol showed the world that he still has knockout power and he dominated the entire fight from start to finish hurting Zinad multiple times.
In a shocking upset, title challenger Nick Ball, claimed the WBA featherweight championship over Raymond Ford. Eddie Hearn told the press before this fight that Ford was one of the best in the world and there is no way Ball could win, it turned out Ball did enough to win via split decision and pulled off a big upset victory to become a world champion.
Hamzah Sheeraz beat Austin Williams by TKO in round 11 in one of the best back and forth action fights of the year, it was hardfought and fans would love to see a rematch.
Daniel Dubois put on one of his best performances against highly touted heavyweight Filip Hrgovic and stopped him in the eight round. Dubois who isn’t even 30 years old yet, believes his losses helped him grow as a fighter and he showed it in the ring against a very talented heavyweight foe in Hrgovic.
In the main event, Chinese star Zhilei Zhang showed no fear of Deontay Wilder’s right hand power and instead was the one who hurt the KO king and put him out in the fifth round. Zhang hopes to land a world title shot or a bout with Anthony Joshua in the future and at 41 years of age, he shows age is nothing but a number.
Video: Zhilei Zhang vs. Deontay Wilder Fight Highlights Replay (Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5v5- Riyadh Season)
Video by DAZN boxing
Muki is a long time boxing fan and enjoys Mixed Martial Arts. He has been writing boxing articles since he was a teen and his favorite fighters of the past are Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Prince Naseem Hamed. Favorite MMA fighters are Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.