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Frank Warren recently gave his take on a potential clash between Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi. Buatsi came away with a hard-fought victory against fellow Brit Craig Richards this past weekend. He is now eyeing bigger fights and a matchup opposite Yarde would make for another blockbuster all-English bout.
Buatsi vs. Richards was the final eliminator for the WBA Light Heavyweight Championship. The belt is currently held by Dmitry Bivol, who defended it against Canelo Alvarez earlier this month.
Dismissing the possibility of a Yarde vs. Buatsi fight in the near future, Queensberry Promotions' Frank Warren said in an interview with SecondsOut:
"It [Buatsi vs. Richards] was the final eliminator for Bivol, I don't know why they're [Buatsi's team] talking about Anthony Yarde. If that's what you fought for, that's what you signed up for, fight Bivol. Anthony Yarde has got bigger fish to fry at the moment. He's the WBO's mandatory for the three belts that Joe Smith and [Artur] Beterbiev are fighting for and he will get the winner and fight them in October, we're trying to do that here [in the UK]. That's where we're at."
Warren went on to say that if Yarde becomes the champion, a fight against Buatsi would then make sense.
"If Anthony was to win, I think he's got a good chance of becoming a world champion, then he will fight Buatsi immediately. No problem. I don't know what Buatsi is going to do in the meantime, that's up to him and his people."
Watch Frank Warren's full interview with SecondsOut below:
Both Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi are one win away from becoming world champions
As mentioned by Frank Warren in the above interview with SecondsOut, Anthony Yarde has been anointed as the mandatory challenger for the winner of the upcoming Joe Smith vs. Artur Beterbiev bout, which is slated for June 18th. The victor of the Smith vs. Beterbiev fight will be crowned the WBO, WBC and IBF Light Heavyweight Champion.
Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) will likely fight for the aforementioned belts later this year. He is coming off back-to-back wins over Lyndon Arthur and Alex Theran.
Meanwhile, Joshua Buatsi is expected to take on Dmitry Bivol next, after it was confirmed that Bivol's most recent opponent, Canelo Alvarez, will be taking on Gennadiy Golovkin in a trilogy bout in September. Alvarez was initially rumored to be running it back with the WBA Light Heavyweight Champion, but has now opted against it.
Buatsi (16-0, 13 KOs) has never tasted defeat in his professional career. He went the distance with Craig Richards in his last outing and will undoubtedly be in for the toughest fight of his career when he eventually locks horns with Bivol, who is also unbeaten.
