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Mike Coppinger reports that Daniel Dubois and Anthony Yarde will compete in the main and co-main events of an April 18th UK card, which ESPN+ will stream stateside. Neither currently have opponents, but both have been linked to specific matchups in recent times.
Dubois (14-0, 13 KO) recently entered negotiations with Joe Joyce; the two have established themselves as the country’s top rising heavyweight talents and boast massive knockout power, so there’s really nothing to dislike about the matchup. “Dynamite” fought five times in 2019, knocking out Razvan Cojanu, Richard Lartey, Nathan Gorman, Ebenezer Tetteh, and Kyotaro Fujimoto.
Yarde (18-1, 17 KO) hasn’t been heard from since August, when he badly hurt but ultimately succumbed to the power of Sergey Kovalev. Despite it being his first time facing a warm body, it doesn’t look as though he’ll be looking for a get-well fight; Frank Warren said last month that he was “quite close” to putting together a bout between Yarde and capable veteran Maxim Vlasov. The two are ranked #6 and #4, respectively, by the WBO, which has yet to officially announce what it intends to do with the belt Canelo Alvarez vacated. Going by their rankings, it’s very possible that a Yarde-Vlasov winner would be first in line for whoever takes the vacant title.