Hearn proposes 5 versus 5 with De La Hoya, with Stevenson-Zepeda close to reality

DAZN’s in-house rivalry between promoters Eddie Hearn and Oscar De La Hoya has been the source of serious and humorous feuds between the men who both display healthy egos.

The latest back-and-forth arrived this week with England’s Hearn responding to a video of De La Hoya speculating on a 5 versus 5 tournament between his Golden Boy-promoted fighters and Hearn’s Matchroom stable.

Things didn’t go so well for Hearn against his British rival Frank Warren, who swept all five bouts in the inaugural “5 versus 5” in June in Saudi Arabia.

Hearn has responded by moving to dictate the matchups versus Golden Boy, posting a potential 5 versus 5 schedule against De La Hoya’s crew on “X.”

Hearn proposed this: IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis versus Ryan Garcia; unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson vs. unbeaten consensus No. 1-ranked contender William Zepeda; former WBA junior-middleweight champion Israil Madrimov versus unbeaten Vergil Ortiz Jr., cruiserweight champions Jai Opetaia and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in a unification; and top 140-pound contender Jack Catterall vs. former unified champion Jose Ramirez.

“I love these 5 on 5’s – the best of the guy versus the other guy’s best,” former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri said on Wednesday’s edition of ProBox TV’s “Top Stories.” 

Algieri’s colleague, Paulie Malignaggi, thought Hearn tended to stack things in his favor with these assignments that are – for now – mythical.

Algieri said considering that Ryan Garcia is serving a one-year suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug before fighting 140-pound champion Devin Haney April 20, it’s unlikely that Garcia will fight Ennis next.

Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) defends his IBF belt Saturday in a Philadelphia hometown card against mandatory contender Karen Chukhadzhian.

“It’s hard for me to go against ‘Boots’ … Ryan would be new to welterweight or 154 pounds and he’s been out of the ring for so long,” Algieri said.

Former welterweight champion Malignaggi added, “I know Ennis wants bigger fights. Eddie has Ennis, so, of course, Eddie would say this tio grab and absorb some of (Garcia’s) star power.”

It may be more likely that the Hearn-De La Hoya clash starts on a smaller scale amid speculation that Ennis may leave the lacking welterweight division and fight Golden Boy’s Ortiz Jr., perhaps as soon as the Feb. 22 Riyadh Season card in Saudi Arabia.

Another bout from Hearn’s dream card – Stevenson-Zepeda – is being planned for Feb. 22 as Stevenson heals from the recent hand surgery that scrapped his scheduled Nov. 16 date in Saudi Arabia.

An individual connected to negotiations told BoxingScene Thursday there is a verbal agreement in place for Stevenson 22-0 (10 KOs) to fight Zepeda 31-0 (27 KOs) on Feb. 22 pending Zepeda’s Nov. 16 fight in Saudi Arabia versus former super-featherweight champion Tevin Farmer.

“That will be the most anticipated fight of Shakur Stevenson’s career, but it’s another fight with the advantage to Eddie,” Malignaggi said. “(Zepeda) is a really fun fighter to watch … I’d like to see him get a title first … but Shakur really does want all the smoke.”

Algieri expressed enthusiasm that the bout is coming.

“Shakur takes Zepeda apart (being) a master of distance, using that jab, slowing the pace down – I don’t see Zepeda overcoming that,” Algieri said.

Hearn’s idea of matching Madrimov and Ortiz in a non-title fight shows just how stacked the 154-pound division is, with champions Terence Crawford, Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev reigning.

Madrimov, who dropped a narrow decision to Crawford August 3, has a pending date Dec. 21 against Serhii Bohachuk, who knocked down Ortiz twice before Ortiz emerged with a victory on the scorecards on August 10.

“Madrimov (is) a tough style for Ortiz. Madrimov is a lot better than people give him credit for,” Algieri said. “But Ortiz’s output might be too difficult for Madrimov. I’d be all eyes and ears for that one. This whole weight class is ‘any given night.’”

Malignaggi said, “These could be the two best guys in the weight class. The two of them would be a sick fight.”

As would cruiserweight champions Jai Opetaia of Matchroom versus Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez of Golden Boy. “Zurdo” fights a unification headlining the Nov. 16 card against Chris Billam-Smith.

Malignaggi praised Opetaia as “destructive,” and Algieri hails him as “more dynamic and I like the athleticism … but ‘Zurdo’ is a different animal at cruiserweight with the body punches … Nos. 1 and 2 in a weight class, I like it.”

The Catterall-Ramirez bout also may come to reality should Ramirez defeat Arnold Barboza on the Nov. 16 Saudi Arabia card. New WBO President Gustavo Olivieri said he is considering ordering Ramirez-Catterall as a qualifier, with the winner to meet WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez.

“Not a lot of fanfare around (Catterall and Ramirez) but both are very good,” Algieri said. “It’s a good, scrappy fight.”

Malignaggi said Ramirez would likely “impose himself” on Catterall, who has defeated the former undisputed 140-pound champion Josh Taylor who defeated Ramirez.

“This (5 versus 5) is growing on me. Let’s do it,” Malignaggi said.