Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 Prediction and Betting Tips: Best bets for latest Saudi Arabia super-card

Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn, boxing's two superstar promoters, go head-to-head on Saturday night in Riyadh, each selecting five fighters to represent their stables in a thrilling direct competition.

This unique night of boxing has a star-studded lineup on show, with former world champion Deontay Wilder, heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois, IBF mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic, current WBA light heavyweight belt holder Dmitry Bivol and WBA featherweight champ Raymond Ford all featured.

These once sworn-enemies-turned-partners have been brought together by the eye-watering riches of Saudi Arabia and more specifically, under the guidance of Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh, starting out their joint business venture with last December's 'Day of Reckoning' card, headlined by Anthony Joshua.

Now, this latest step in the pair burying the hatchet sees a special kind of event offer bragging rights to the winning promotion, in addition to various title-implicating permutations at stake.

The Queensberry vs Matchroom 5v5 fight card looks like this:

• Zhilei Zhang vs Deontay Wilder (Heavyweight)
• Daniel Dubois vs Filip Hrgovic (Heavyweight)
• Hamzah Sheeraz vs Austin Williams (Middleweight)
• Dmitry Bivol vs Malik Zinad (WBA light heavyweight title on the line)
• Raymond Ford vs Nick Ball (WBA featherweight title on the line)
• Willy Hutchinson vs Craig Richards (Light heavyweight)

Ball is at the peak of his powers right now, making his sophomoric overseas outing at this historic event after storming through the competition on English waters, winning 19 times and maintaining his 0.

The 27-year-old took his first fight outside of his homeland in March in a bout for the WBC world featherweight championship title against Rey Vargas - a contest which was unable to determine a winner despite two late knockdowns perhaps doing enough to justify the Liverpudlian's hand being raised.

As the odds suggest, there isn't much to split these two apart, with the majority of boxing minds believing that spectators are destined to watch these two duke it out for the full 12 rounds. In any type of pick 'em situation, it pays to side with the underdog.

Although Ball won't be afforded the same advantages he had against Vargas, the fact that Ford is a smaller, more compact fighter means he will be able to get to his opponent a lot easier than the rangy Mexican he last faced.

'Savage' is likely to meet his adversary in the middle of the ring in an attempt to diffuse Ball's attempts to bully the champ and fight in close pockets. But as we've seen when tested before, the Englishman's ability to produce something out of thin air in the face of adversity can help him prevail.

The young, strong and motivated Dubois has come up short in his last two matchups, standing accused of taking the easy way out in his defeats to Joe Joyce and more recently, Oleksandr Usyk. Filip Hrgovic has taunted his opponent by this token, expecting him to follow suit and 'quit' in the pair's meeting this weekend - a theory we're inclined to buy into.

From what we've seen so far, Dubois isn't hardy enough to stand with Hrgovic, a man who's been the IBF's top heavyweight contender since his August 2022 win over Zhilei Zhang despite complications with the mandatory challenger rotation system for unified titlists.

If we're to take that last defeat at face value, then the outcome doesn't look good for the English heavyweight here either, considering that Hrgovic is effectively a more dynamic and quicker version of Joe Joyce. The Croatian also possesses a better chin than the aforementioned Joyce, not to mention that he packs a significantly harder punch to boot.

Flip's straight punches can be used to great effect against Dubois, helping to back him up and deliver significant punishment during the first half of this contest. Daniel's lack of head movement will make him prone to this type of attack, however, Hrgovic will also make himself available to be hit by standing in close proximity.

Gradually, the Croatian will break Dubois down and eventually stop him at some stage in the second half of the fight, setting up a late 2024 meeting with Anthony Joshua for the soon-to-be-vacated-IBF-title.

This bout traces back to exactly which Deontay Wilder is going to show up. The 'Bronze Bomber' holds the physiological advantages, is younger and a more accomplished fighter, however, 'Big Bang' turned in a better performance against Joseph Parker and only lost due to gassing out in the later rounds as opposed to Wilder's reluctance to engage.

Zhang is the favourite for a reason, and any movement in the odds is only motivated by a belief in Wilder's past than anything he's displayed recently. He has since acknowledged that his lack of aggression is unsustainable in this final title charge, but such a decision shouldn't be taken lightly against someone with Zhang's terrorising power.

It seems futile to back either of these two to win by decision on Saturday night, so therefore taking the Chinese silver medalist to be victorious in this heavy-handed shootout between rounds 7-12 becomes the play.

Double points are on offer to these respective team captains, with four points up for grabs should one of the two complete a knockout victory. One of those straight lefts down the middle is how we're ultimately predicting Wilder's downfall, who won't be able to fully recover and is likely to find himself flatlined by another Zhang bomb shortly after the midway stage.