"WAR in Bilbao" - Eddie Hearn announces stacked Spanish card

Hearn (left) and Metcalf vs. Lejarraga (right) [Poster credit @matchroomboxing]

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing have announced a stacked card for Bilbao, Spain on Friday, May 20. The card features a WBA title fight between British boxer James Metcalf and hometown fighter Kerman Lejarraga.

Metcalf and Lejarraga will fight for the WBA Continental Super Welterweight Title. The card also features a bout between up-and-coming fighters Angel Moreno and Jairo Noriega for the EBU European Flyweight Championship.

Eddie Hearn hyped up the card on his Instagram:

"WAR in Bilbao next Friday!!!"

WAR in Bilbao next Friday!!! 🇪🇸 twitter.com/matchroomboxin…

Metcalf most recently fought on the undercard of Conor Benn vs. Chris van Heerden in April, where he beat journeyman Evgenii Vazem via TKO. His current record is 22-2.

Lejarraga's most recent bout was with James Flatley in 2021 for the EBU European Super Welterweight Title. He won the fight by knockout after dropping Flatley three times. His current record is 34-2.

Angel Moreno and Jairo Noriega are both Spanish fighters. Moreno has a current record of 21-4-3 and Noriega's record stands at 11-0. The card also features Jon Miguez vs. James Moorecroft at welterweight, and Ander Amatriain vs. Rikar Urrutia at super lightweight.

Eddie Hearn recently promoted Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing recently put on the fight between then pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez and WBA (Super) Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol. The fight ended in an upset win for the Russian. Alvarez moved up from super middleweight, where he is the undisputed champion, to challenge Bivol for his title.

CANELO UPSET 🚨

Dmitry Bivol defeats Alvarez by unanimous decision and retains his light heavyweight title. #CaneloBivol https://t.co/CHJriCaj2U

A number of prominent figures in boxing, including trainer Teddy Atlas and former professional boxer Paulie Malignaggi, criticized the judging for the fight. All three judges gave Alvarez the first four rounds of the contest, although it appeared that Bivol won most of them. The final scores on all three cards were an identical 115-113. That is surprisingly close considering the Russian controlled the bout throughout.

Eddie Hearn is one of the biggest and most influential promoters in boxing today. In addition to Alvarez and Bivol, fighters signed to his stable include Katie Taylor, Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, Oleksandr Usyk, Devin Haney, and Joseph Parker. He has promoted some of the biggest fights in recent history, including a record-breaking bout between Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders in 2021.