Saturday night will be a big night for British boxing as Lyndon Arthur and Anthony Yarde go head to head once more for the Commonwealth light-heavyweight title.
The two fought each other just under a year ago at Church House in London and there was very little to separate them.
However, a split decision saw Arthur edge it to pick up the vacant WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight belt.
The second fight is likely to be just as close and Yarde will certainly fancy his chances of getting is own back at the Copper Box Arena.
Yarde Lays Down Marker
Both men have fought once since last December’s bout, with Yarde certainly wanting to prove a point after his loss.
The split decision was the second loss of his career but he wasted no time in getting back on the winning trail in August.
He was up against Colombian fighter Alex Theran and won by technical knockout with just two minutes and 32 seconds on the clock.
His confidence will have been swelled by the manner of the win and he can face Arthur knowing he has a real chance.
Love me or hate me
pic.twitter.com/nWltaAHEam
— Anthony Yarde (@mranthonyyarde) July 10, 2021
Yarde to win on decision is available to back at 16/5.
Arthur to Make Yarde’s Life Difficult
There is plenty on the line with this fight – the winner is likely to be propelled to a potential world title belt.
Having won the first fight, the unbeaten Arthur will not want to relinquish that easily. He was taken to nine rounds by Italian Davide Faraci in July, so he has clearly been worked more vigorously than his opponent.
However, he does have a slight height and reach advantage over his opponent, though Yarde, after losing to Sergey Kovalev in a WBO light-heavyweight title fight in August 2019, has the more high-profile experience.
With clearly little to choose between them, backing it to go the distance again, which can be backed at 5/8, is probably wise.
Unbeaten Haney set for Lightweight Defence
Elsewhere this weekend, American Devin Haney is the hot favourite to defend his WBC lightweight crown when he faces compatriot Joseph Diaz at the MGM Arena.
In 26 fights, the 23-year-old has won 15 of them by knockout and first won the WBC lightweight belt against Russian Zaur Abdullaev after a fourth-round stoppage in 2019.
Since then, he has defeated Alfredo Santiago, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Jorge Linares all by unanimous decisions with the latter being beaten in May of this year.
Linares did provide a tough assignment for Haney but the young fighter has already shown plenty of resilience despite his relative lack of experience.
Southpaw Diaz is expected to be another step up for Haney with the former featherweight stepping up to lightweight in 2020 and winning the interim WBC title against Javier Fortuna in July.
However, Haney’s ability to counterpunch should prove pivotal in this fight and he is likely to outscore Diaz on the judges’ cards.
He is available at 1/2 to win by a decision.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
