Oscar De La Hoya and Eddie Hearn are serious about the much-discussed 5v5 fight card between Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom.
What began as a few competitive barbs between the two promoters has materialized into conversations bordering on substance. I spoke with De La Hoya on Monday, November 11, and he confirmed the card’s legitimacy and shared his target date for the event.
According to De La Hoya, he would love “to take over Cinco de Mayo weekend” with this massive card. Something tells me the targeted date was no coincidence.
Here is a look at the entire interview, including De La Hoya discussing Ryan Garcia’s comeback fight, Latino Night in Riyadh on November 16, Clapback Thursday, and more.
I spoke to De La Hoya about the apparent conflict the 5v5 show might have with his former fighter, Canelo Alvarez. Every year, Canelo looks to fight on Cinco de Mayo weekend in May and Mexican Independence Day in September.
No one knows that better than De La Hoya, and because the two legends have turned into bitter rivals, I joked with the former about the episode of Clapback Thursday that would come that week as he looked to stick it to Canelo. The details of the 5v5 event have shifted a bit, but the core concepts remain intact.
The one seemingly definitive about the matchups is Shakur Stevenson taking on William Zepeda. Expect Stevenson to be a heavy favorite in the fight because of his speed and defensive gifts.
While Zepeda has proven to have excellent power with 27 KOs in 31 fights, he will almost certainly be a step slower than Stevenson. The other discussed fights for the 5v5 are Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz, the winner of Jose Ramirez-Arnold Barboza vs. Jack Catterall, Jai Opetaia vs. Gilberto Ramirez, and another fight that could include any of a group of fighters from the two promotions like Israil Madrimov, Oscar Duarte or Diego Pacheco.
Many of the discussed fighters are scheduled to fight soon or have fought recently. Ennis scored a unanimous decision win over Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday, though he looked vulnerable. Ramirez looks to unify the cruiserweight titles in the main event of November 16 Latino Night against Chris Billiam-Smith. Ramirez faces Barboza on the same card, and Catterall walked through former world champion Regis Prograis earlier this month.
Duarte is also on the Latino Night card, facing Botirzhon Akhmedov. Madrimov is coming off a loss to Terence Crawford in August, and he faces Serhii Bohachuk on December 21. Bohachuk lost a controversial decision to Ortiz in his last fight. The timelines for every fighter rumored to be involved seemingly line up.
As De La Hoya mentioned, it will come down to whether Turki Alalshikh believes in the concept and is willing to offer the same support that he has or past events–including the five-v-five between Matchroom and Queensberry earlier this year. Stay tuned.