Dmitry Bivol Maintains Undefeated Record, Queensberry Secures Victory Over Matchroom

Russian boxer Dmitry Bivol successfully defended his International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight titles against Libyan contender Malik Zinad. The match concluded in the sixth round, ending Zinad's 22-win streak. Bivol's victory preserved his undefeated record, prompting Turki Al Al-Sheikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), to invite him for another bout on October 12 in Riyadh as part of Riyadh Season 2024.

The 5 vs 5 matches held at Kingdom Arena during Riyadh Season saw Queensberry fighters triumph over their Matchroom counterparts. In the first match, Scottish boxer Willy Hutchinson, a gold medalist at the 2016 Youth World Championship in the middleweight category, won by unanimous decision after 12 rounds against British light heavyweight champion Craig Richards.

In the second match, Queensberry boxer Nick Ball secured a split decision victory against US Matchroom boxer Raymond Ford. Ford, the WBA featherweight titleholder with an undefeated record of 15 wins, eight by knockout, faced his first career loss.

British boxer Hamzah Sheeraz of Queensberry, Commonwealth world champion and holder of the WBC silver title with an undefeated record of 19 wins, 15 by knockout, defeated US Austin Williams of Matchroom. Williams was the top-ranked amateur in the US before turning professional with 16 wins, 11 by technical knockout in the first round. Sheeraz’s victory gave Queensberry a 6-0 lead over Matchroom.

In another bout at Kingdom Arena, British heavyweight WBA titleholder Daniel Dubois faced Croatian Filip Hrgović, ranked first by the IBF. Dubois secured another TKO victory in the eighth round, adding to Queensberry's points tally as Matchroom continued to struggle.

Zhilei Zhang Secures Final Victory

In the final bout, Chinese boxer Zhilei Zhang, ranked third-best heavyweight boxer globally, faced US Deontay Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion since 2007. Zhilei earned two additional points for Frank Warren's team with a TKO victory in the fifth round. This concluded the event with a 10-point sweep for Queensberry, whose boxers earned a total prize of $3 million.

With inputs from SPA