As combat sports fans know, and are understandably excited, this Saturday “Five on Five” will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, pitting five of Matchroom's finest fighters against five of the brand's best representatives, with the possibility of more such tournaments to come.
Turki Aralcik, the Saudi billionaire (or trillionaire?) who has been a huge contributor to the boxing world in recent months, has another big plan in mind. A true boxing fan with deep pockets, Aralcik wants to organize another “5v5” bout, this time pitting five of the greatest American fighters against five of the greatest Mexican warriors.
Before I get into who the fighters could, should or will be, all I can say about this idea is that I would love to be a part of it.
Turki released the teaser on social media.
USA 5 vs Mexico 5
Crawford vs Canelo
[Caleb] Plant V [Jaime] Munguia
[Shakur] Stevenson V [Isaac] cruise
Well, it's “3 on 3,” but you know what that means. It could be big, it could be special. Alarczyk has said in the past that he wants to put together the great recent fight, Canelo Alvarez against Terence Crawford, and while that superfight wouldn't need an undercard, his excellence has shown that he's willing to provide a great supporting show underneath a big fight that could sell on its own (and of course, with the aforementioned deep pockets, he can afford it!).
Now imagine the possibilities of a Mexico vs. USA 5-on-5.
No matter where or when it takes place, we fans will be sure to tune in. Crawford faces Israil Madrimov in August, and “Pit Bull” Cruz must beat Jose Valenzuela on the same card on August 3, while Stevenson faces Artem Harootunyan in July. Plant and Munguia's next fights have yet to be scheduled, as has Canelo.
So, come summer time, maybe these fighters will jump at the chance to represent their countries in a bout thanks to Alarcik’s latest brilliant idea.
Again, I'm in. What about you?
