Golden Boy and Top Rank eyeing up 5v5 card

Just a few hours after it was reported that the success of the 5v5 format meant that Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn were planning to recreate it in a second event, it looks as if the fever has swept across the pond as well.

Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy are reportedly open to working out a card along the same lines, bringing this team concept to two American companies.

The idea was conceived of as a way to capitalize on the long-running feud between two British promotion companies, Warren’s Queensberry and Hearn’s Matchroom.

But Oscar De La Hoya has said that he would like to do the same thing with Top Rank here in Las Vegas. Fans are divided on whether or not it will actually come to pass or if it is just air castles being built by the Golden Boy.

Several critics have pointed out that apart from Ryan Garcia, Golden Boy’s stable is not up to Top Rank’s level, and some have even gone as far as saying that if there were a Las Vegas version of the 5v5, then it would be better to have Top Rank square off with either Queensberry or Matchroom, cutting Golden Boy out entirely.

Another big fly in the ointment is the perceived influence of Saudi money in the sport, with some fans saying that without the Saudis involved, then 5v5 never would have happened. This of course raises the question of whether or not the Saudis would back a similar show in Las Vegas, something that Oscar De La Hoya has ruled out entirely in the past, or whether there was a financial will to make it happen with American money.

In any case, this looks like it could be the beginning of something big.