The eagerly-anticipated 5 vs. 5 event between Queensberry Promotions and Matchroom Boxing in Riyadh kicked off with a 12-round light heavyweight battle that kicked off with a victory for Team Queensberry as Scotland’s Willy Hutchinson produced a breakout performance to outbattle Craig Richards over the full 12-round duration to capture the WBC silver light heavyweight title, and the first point of the night for Frank Warren.
Hutchinson quickly established himself in the early rounds as he worked at a very comfortable pace and outboxed Richards through the opening two rounds. Then, in the third, he upped the pressure forced Richards back as he connected with back-to-back right hands that put the Englishman into a retreat.
Hutchinson’s good early work had his promoter Frank Warren grinning from ear to ear as Richards struggled to make headway in a bout many had picked him to win. And that grin got even wider in the fifth as Hutchinson put Richards in trouble with another relentless forward surge.
With Richards struggling to get going, Hutchinson cruised his way through the middle rounds of the bout, but as the bout headed into the eighth round, Richards started to push forward, with solid jabs to the body, plus a strong right hand, serving as a reminder that he was still a factor in the fight.
Then in a crazy 10th round, Richards connected with a big punch of his own, which sparked a wild remainder of the round as the pair engaged in a back-and-forth slugfest through Round 10, with each man appearing to stun the other.
But, after Richards pushed hard, with no reward, in Round 11, the gas tank was all but empty in the final frame as the pair took the matchup all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
When the scorecards were revealed, the three scorers all saw the fight comprehensively for Hutchinson, who claimed the victory with scores of 116-112, 117-111, 119-109 to improve his career record to 18-1 and add the WBC silver light heavyweight title to his resume.
5 vs. 5: Queensberry vs. Matchroom – Official Results
- Zhilei Zhang (Q) def. Deontay Wilder (captain, M) via knockout – Round 5, 1:51
- Daniel Dubois (Q) def. Filip Hrgovic (M) via TKO (doctor stoppage) – Round 8, 0:57 – for IBF interim heavyweight title
- Dmitry Bivol def. Malik Zinad via TKO – Round 6, 2:06 – for WBA Super and IBO light heavyweight titles
- Hamza Sheeraz (captain, Q) def. Austin Williams (M) via TKO – Round 11, 0:45 – WBC silver middleweight title
- Nick Ball (Q) def. Raymond Ford (M) via split decision (113-115, 115-113, 115-113) – for WBA featherweight title
- Willy Hutchinson (Q) def. Craig Richards (M) via unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 119-109) – for WBC silver light heavyweight title
