The Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5V5 event will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, June 1, starting at 7 p.m. UK time and 2 p.m. ET. Watch live on DAZN
Dmitry Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) will be making a defense of his WBA light heavyweight belt against replacement opponent, little-known #14 IBF Malik Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs) on June 1st at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zinad: A Questionable Choice
The 30-year-old Libayan native Zinad is replacing injured IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev as the opponent for Bivol to fight on the June 1st card. Bivol vs. Beterbiev has been postponed until later this year or in 2025.
It’s unclear whether His Excellency Turki Alalshikh chose the obscure fighter Malik Zinad himself as the opponent for Bivol, as it’s an unusual choice, given that this guy has never fought any notable top-tier opposition during his nine-year professional career and has been fighting in obscurity.
Bivol vs. Zinad is a mismatch and definitely not a good fight for the main portion of the card. It won’t be competitive. We’ve already seen Bivol in a mismatch in his last fight against British fighter Lyndon Arthur, and that wasn’t remotely entertaining to watch.
It would have been better for boxing fans if a proven well known contender were selected for Bivol to fight than Zinad. It’s going to be a massive step up in class for Zinad going from fighting no-name opposition to taking one one of the best fighters in the 175-lb division in Bivol.
Event Details:
- Date: Saturday, June 1
- Start Time: 2:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM UK
- Venue: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Streaming: Live on DAZN
Queensberry vs. Matchroom 5v5 fight card
- Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad; For Bivol’s WBA light heavyweight title
- Deontay Wilder (Matchroom) vs Zhilei Zhang (Queensberry)
- Daniel Dubois (Queensberry) vs Filip Hrgovic (Matchroom)
- Raymond Ford (Matchroom) vs Nick Ball (Queensberry) – (WBA featherweight title)
- Craig Richards (Matchroom) vs Willy Hutchinson (Queensberry)
- Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (Matchroom) vs Hamzah Sheeraz (Queensberry)