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Boxing

Why is Queensberry vs. Matchroom hosting a 5v5 tournament: The British boxing rivalry explained

Why is Queensberry vs. Matchroom hosting a 5v5 tournament: The British boxing rivalry explainedMark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Two promoters will go head-to-head in Riyadh.

A unique boxing event will take place this coming Saturday live on DAZN

Two of boxing's most prominent promoters, Queensberry's Frank Warren and Matchroom's Eddie Hearn have picked five fighters from their respective promotional stables to go head-to-head in order to establish which promotion has the better talent. 

It's a rivalry which has been brewing for a number of years, and despite recently working on a number of high profile events together over the past few months, friendship will be cast aside as Warren and Hearn attempt to gain British boxing bragging rights. 

But why is there a promotional rivalry between these two men? DAZN explains. 

Why is there a rivalry between Queensberry and Matchroom? 

This is a boxing rivalry which dates back to 1989 when Barry Hearn, Eddie's father, took advantage of Warren's absence from the sport after he was shot by a masked gunman. 

As a result of the attack, wealthy backers pulled their funding from Warren's promotion and his fighters decided to jump ship to Matchroom. 

Once healthy, Warren returned to where he left off playing a crucial role in making the rematch between Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn in 1993 which was followed by a broadcast deal with Sky two years later. 

History then repeated itself when Hearn looked to make his own impact on the sport of boxing and with rising stars such as Tony Bellew at his disposal, he too signed an exclusive broadcast deal with Sky in 2007. 

With Warren's shows being shown by a different broadcaster, it was a struggle for Queensberry and Matchroom to make events involving both of their fighters. 

There have been rare instances when two fighters from Queensberry and Matchroom would go head-to-head in a high profile contest, but more often than not, differences between the two promoters would get in the way of some major fights including the heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. 

When did Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn start working together? 

The tense relationship between Warren and Hearn eased in November when the chairman of Saudi Arabia's general entertainment authority, Turki Alalshikh, ventured into boxing and began to put together the huge "Day of Reckoning" card which was to be headlined by former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua. 

With Alalshikh wanting the best talent from both Queensberry and Matchroom to feature, he insisted that now is the time for the two rivals to become partners and ever since that first encounter between Warren and Hearn at Wembley Arena, it is a working relationship which has since strengthened the sport of boxing for the better. 

Since the "Day of Reckoning" card on December 23, Warren and Hearn have worked together on a number of events both in Riyadh, and domestically with the upcoming fight between Queensberry's Liam Davies and Matchroom's Shabaz Masoud on July 20 in Birmingham being the latest example. 

With these two influential figures in boxing collaborating and making the fights fans have been calling for, this will hopefully mark the start of a new era in British boxing, and just maybe a fight between Fury and Joshua will finally take place in the not so distant future. 

 

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