The hotly-anticipated Matchroom versus Queensberry card is just two months away and already there are rumours regarding who will be selected by each promotion. However, one man who was strongly rumoured to an appearance on the bill can now be ruled out, after his brother announced his unavailability.
Callum Smith was knocked out by Artur Beterbiev back in January in an unsuccessful bid for the unified light-heavyweight titles, a first stoppage defeat of the Liverpudlian’s career. Ever since, he has been linked to a match-up with many fellow British 175lbers, but mainly Anthony Yarde, and the contest seemed ideal for the upcoming card on June 1st.
However, recent reports have suggested that Yarde will not compete on the Matchroom vs. Queensberry bill in Saudi Arabia, instead favouring a domestic dust-up against Joshua Buatsi in London.
On social media, former British middleweight champion and brother of Callum, Paul Smith Jnr confirmed why Yarde may have moved on from a possible clash with ‘Mundo’, and questioned why Yarde’s trainer is still mentioning his brother’s name.
“He [Tunde Ajayi] knows full well it’s not happening anytime soon. Callum gets married June 1st. But it won’t stop the fraud Tunde posting [about Smith] to stay relevant.”
The weights for the one-of-a-kind undercard have been confirmed and there is a light-heavyweight bout set to be announced, leaving the door open for Yarde to step in case talks with Buatsi fail to develop. Yet, there are speculations that a light-heavyweight fight between Craig Richards and Willy Hutchinson is poised to fill that void.
Still, there is time for Yarde to decide whether he should pursue Buatsi or an appearance on the Matchroom vs. Queensberry bill, which is main evented by Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev, and the latter opportunity will give him leverage in the negotiations with his fellow Londoner, as the clock ticks down to the official announcement of the card.