An all-British light-heavyweight clash between Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) and Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) is in the works for August.
Both men are coming off the back of significant domestic wins in the opening third of 2025 and are now firmly back in the hunt for world titles.
Smith beat Joshua Buatsi on points in Riyadh on February 22 while
Yarde made it 2-1 against Lyndon Arthur via a hard-fought 12-round decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month.
And now
The Ring has learned that they could face each other in Saudi Arabia in August as part of a Matchroom v Queensberry 5vs5 style event in Riyadh.
As The Ring reported in March, both Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren submitted lists of 10 fighters to decide the five fights which could make up the next head-to-head event.
In the first one on June 1 last year, Warren and Queensberry crushed Matchroom via a 10-0 scoreline but Hearn should get his chance for revenge later this year.
And one of those fights could be between 31-2 (22) former super-middleweight world champion
Smith, representing Matchroom, and 33-year-old
Yarde, 27-2 (24).
They have both already tried and failed to win belts at 175lbs but were both stopped by Russian great Artur Beterbiev while Yarde was also beaten inside the distance by Sergey Kovalev.
Ring Magazine champion Dmitry Bivol currently holds the IBF, WBO and WBA world titles but is expected to face Beterbiev for a third time before 2025 is out.
In order to pursue that trilogy fight,
Bivol opted to relinquish his WBC belt meaning interim champion David Benavidez was elevated to full champion in April.
It is understood that talks are ongoing to match the Mexican Monster with Smith, although he is currently not ranked inside the top 10 with the WBC and appears no closer to securing that fight.
The Liverpool man is, however, the current WBO interim champion and it has been reported that Bivol may choose to vacate his WBO title too, which would allow Smith to face the sanctioning body’s No.1 Yarde for the full belt in August.