Joshua Buatsi against Anthony Yarde is a huge light heavyweight matchup many are keen to see and now it has been given a huge update.
Boxing Scene reports that Ben Shalom’s Boxxer who promote Buatsi, and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions who promotes Yarde, are close to agreeing on terms for this all British match up.
The contest has long been on the cards with fans keen to see who is the best light heavyweight in Britain. Buatsi was watching on when Yarde fought and got a stoppage over Marko Nikolic in February, while Buatsi’s last outing was a points win over another Brit, Dan Azeez.
Higher up the division, the two belt holders Artur Beterbiev and Dmitrii Bivol are soon expected to battle it out for undisputed honours in June out in Saudi Arabia so the winner of that fight could well have to take on the winner of Buatsi and Yard next.
Shalom has explained the details to Boxing Scene.
“I think we are sitting down with George [Warren, of Queensberry, this] week. They are trying to figure out their side [of the deal] and we are ready to go. For Buatsi and us, everything has been agreed upon, and we are ready for the fight.
“We are just waiting on the other side, but I believe it will happen. That is where we stand. We have been in talks with George and Queensberry for a while now.
“They know what we want from the fight, and we have agreed on what that looks like. So we are now waiting on Queensberry and Anthony, but I believe it will happen.”
He then spoke of possible venues.
“We have a couple of options. Definitely in London and a co-promotion. I would like to explore the potential to go outdoors. We saw with Buatsi and Azeez – it did so well that it showed that the London boxing scene is thriving.
“Buatsi-Yarde is a fight that boxing fans have talked about for five, six, seven, and eight years. It is a huge fight, so we would want it to be held in a spectacular arena, but the 02 [Arena] is also fantastic.
“Let’s see because I don’t want to say too much like everyone else and hope the fight happens and gets announced as soon as possible.”
Fight fans will be hoping this one gets over the line sooner rather than later.