Frank Warren won’t let Eddie Hearn forget Matchroom’s devastating defeat in a hurry.
On Saturday night, Warren’s Queensberry sunk Hearn’s Matchroom with a 10-0 whitewash in the unprecedented 5vs5 tournament.
A disheartened Hearn took to social media on his flight home to give his reaction to the crushing loss.
“Obviously a disappointing night in Riyadh, great show but long journey home, looking forward to a nice quiet trip,” he said as the camera panned to a smug-looking Warren who was quick to remind his promotional rival that he had won all five fights.
“You know there was a five-hour delay on this flight and they reckon it is going to take five hours to get to the airport,” quipped Warren.
“And then after that, I’m sitting in row five. Anyway, high five.”
Hearn and Warren picked five fighters each to go head-to-head at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to determine who had the better roster.
But besides a close fight between Nick Ball and Raymond Ford, which ended in a split-decision victory for the former, Hearn’s stable proved to be no match for Warren’s men.
In the opening bout of the evening, Willy Hutchinson outclassed Craig Richards over the distance before Ball outpointed Ford in a nip-and-tuck affair to claim the WBA featherweight crown.
Hamzah Sheeraz then put victory out of Matchroom’s reach by stopping Ammo Williams on his feet in round eleven to extend Queensberry’s advantage to 6-0.
Sheeraz was awarded two points for the knockout plus double points for being Queensberry’s captain which left Matchroom needing back-to-back KO wins from Filip Hrgovic and Deontay Wilder to tie the scores.
Despite a decent start from Hrgovic, his gas tank started to fade midway through the contest as Dubois poured on the pressure to stop the Croatian on cuts in the eighth round.
As Wilder and Zhilei Zhang made their way to the ring for the main event, the tournament had already been decided although there was still plenty to play for when it came to both men’s respective careers.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’ had hinted at the possibility of retirement in the event of a defeat and that now seems an inevitability after being flatlined by a pair of lead hooks in the fifth stanza.
Speaking earlier this week, Wilder told Seconds Out: “I’ve had a successful career and this is a do-or-die moment for me.
“I don’t think the heavyweight division is exciting without Deontay Wilder in it but come Saturday night we will see.
“Will I prevail? Will I succeed? Who knows? But Saturday night is the true answer and we are going to see.
“This could be the end of the career, this could be the final farewell of Deontay Wilder if I lose.
“If I win, of course, I go on to bigger and better things.”
Boxing WhatsApp channel
News Summary:
- Frank Warren relentlessly mocks Eddie Hearn on flight home after whitewash defeat in Queensberry vs Matchroom event
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.