LONDON, England - The second edition of the Matchroom-Queensberry ‘5v5’ event has been put on ice, promoter Frank Warren has revealed.

The two biggest promoters in British boxing had been set to pit their stables against each other once again with plans for the show to take place in August.

As reported by The Ring two months ago, Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn had even submitted their draft list of 10 fighters each with a view to whittling it down to five high quality bouts to take place on the same card.

It is understood that a light-heavyweight battle between Queensberry man Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith, a long-time Matchroom fighter, was one of the potential fights and that may yet take place this summer. Smith and Yarde are rated at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively by The Ring.

But Warren, the Queensberry boss, has now confirmed that it will not take place as part of a 5v5 with plans for that event shelved until further notice.

He told The Ring: “There’s no 5v5 in August. There will be a show then but it won’t be the 5v5 as had previously been discussed.

“I don’t know what will be on that card yet, but there’s no 5v5 on there.”

Queensberry crushed Matchroom in the first event in June 2024, winning all five fights and ending with a score of 10-0 but Hearn will have to wait a little while longer for revenge.

And while Yarde may yet take on Smith this summer, Warren also confirmed that the Beast from the East is in the running to face David Benavidez too.

With Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev slated to face each other in a trilogy fight, Mexican Monster Benavidez recently revealed that he is hoping to fight either Yarde or Smith in the meantime.

Yarde is currently 27-3 (24) as a result of his decision victory over Lyndon Arthur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in The Ring’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves event on April 26. Warren confirmed he is currently putting plans in place for Yarde’s next outing and says it could be either Smith or Benavidez in the opposite corner.

He added: “Either of those two. We’re working on it at the moment and will hopefully be able to announce something soon.”