Matchroom-Golden Boy ‘5v5’ taking shape for mid-2025 in the US

A Matchroom Boxing-versus-Golden Boy Promotions “5v5” showdown appears to be in the works, with a target date being eyed for the middle of 2025.

A cross-promotional event that has long been discussed appears to be in the closing stages of finalization, with both companies confirming the show. Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, speaking with ProBoxingFans at Tuesday’s press conference in Belfast, UK, for the March 1 Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan fight, said there will be a second Matchroom-Queensberry event in May, with the Matchroom-Golden Boy show to take place “around June time” and likely to occur in the United States.

“So many fights that can be made between Golden Boy and Matchroom,” Hearn said, pointing to the Shakur Stevenson-Floyd Schofield and Vergil Ortiz Jnr-Israil Madrimov fights that are scheduled for February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, plus the Jack Catterall-Arnold Barboza Jnr fight set for February 15 in Manchester, UK.

“We’re doing a good job of those, and that may continue.”

With two “5v5” events being eyed in the coming months, UK-based Matchroom will be looking to improve off its first showing last June, when it was swept 5-0 by Queensberry boxers in Riyadh.

Oscar De La Hoya, of Golden Boy Promotions, told a Ring Magazine reporter at last week’s Ring Awards that there will be an event between his company and Hearn’s organization, promising a showing similar to what Frank Warren’s Queensberry pulled off last year.

“You will see Golden Boy vs. Matchroom, which will be an absolute pleasure to take Matchroom down,” De La Hoya said. “We have such a great rivalry together, but it’s great for boxing. That’s one thing about Eddie, he means well, I mean well, we’re having fun. Inside the ring, there’s no competition – I’ll take him down in 10 seconds. But I think Matchroom and Golden Boy would be a terrific event for the sport of boxing.”

A representative for Matchroom declined to comment further, saying there wasn’t yet “anything concrete” to add to Hearn’s statements, while a request for comment from Golden Boy hadn’t received a reply by the time of this story’s publication.

Turki Alalshikh, of Riyadh Season, told talkSPORT Boxing today that an unspecified “5v5” event will take place towards the end of May, plus another event in the United States earlier in the month – but he did not mention a June date.

“As you’ve heard the rumors, yes we have a lot of contracts finished, but we will announce it in the perfect time,” said Alalshikh when asked what is being planned for 2025. “There is something in America in the first week of May, then, in the end of May, there is ‘5v5’ again.”

Hearn and De La Hoya have proposed various matchups over social media, with Ortiz (Golden Boy) vs IBF welterweight titleholder Jaron Ennis (Matchroom) and Shakur Stevenson (Matchroom) vs William Zepeda (Golden Boy) being two of the matchups agreed upon by both promoters.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.