Sergey Kovalev vs Anthony Yarde headed to June 11 purse bid

The fight between WBO light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev and mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde was at one point seemingly set for June 29 in Russia, but those plans fell apart, and now the bout is headed to a June 11 purse bid.

Minimum bid for the fight is $300,000.

Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KO) held the WBO’s 175-pound title from 2013-2016, when he lost it to Andre Ward in their controversial first fight. He regained the belt after Ward vacated upon retiring in 2017, beating Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in Nov. 2017 for the vacant strap.

After a successful defense against Igor Mikhalkin in March 2018, Kovalev lost the title via seventh round knockout to Eleider Alvarez, but regained the title again in February, looking refreshed and confident in a 12-round decision win over Alvarez in their rematch.

Yarde (18-0, 17 KO) has a nice record on paper, and the 27-year-old looks the part, but he’s also yet to face anyone near the world level, and a fight with Kovalev is a huge step up, as we’ve noted many times. His most recent win came over Travis Reeves on March 8 at Royal Albert Hall, a fifth round stoppage.