Press Release
Light-Heavyweight rivals Lyndon Arthur and Anthony Yarde both return to action on Saturday July 10 at the Royal Albert Hall, ahead of a contracted rematch later this year.
Arthur narrowly outpointed Yarde in December and they will get a close up of each other once again on Queensberry’s summer special live on BT Sport.
In the main event, Arthur (18-0, 12 KOs) defends his WBO Inter-Continental title against Italian champion Davide Faraci (15-0, 7 KOs).
The Mancunian became the number one ranked contender for Joe Smith Jr’s WBO World title after his split decision win against Yarde and can afford no mistakes against Swiss born Faraci.
As well as his lofty WBO ranking, Arthur is ranked number four by the IBF and nine by the WBC. Artur Beterbiev holds the IBF and WBC belts.
KO King Yarde (20-2, 19 KOs) aims to be back with a bang when he meets unbeaten German Emin Atra (17-0, 12 KOs) in a non-title ten rounder.
Yarde had been due to meet Atra in April, but was sidelined because of a dental problem which forced the delay.
Yarde showed he belonged at world level when he came close to toppling then WBO World champion Sergey Kovalev in August 2019 before losing in the 11th round.
Ilford’s big hitter returned with wins against Diego Jair Ramirez and Dec Spelman before running into Arthur who he will be desperate to meet in a rematch.
Despite the setback against his bitter British rival, Yarde has remained in the world ratings and is ranked high by the IBF, WBC and WBO.
Promoter Frank W said: “Of course, the rematch is what everyone wants and it will happen at some stage.
“It is fantastic to get them on the same bill. Both of them have a point to prove and BT Sport viewers can look forward to them both impressing.
“Lyndon has leapt to number one with the WBO and will want to show the champion Joe Smith Jr how much of a threat he is.
“Anthony will still feel aggrieved that the decision went Lyndon’s way and has vowed never to trust judges again so he will go for it against Atra, for sure.”
Also on the bill, WBO ranked number one Super-Middleweight Zach Parker (20-0, 14 KO’s) returns with his opponent yet to be confirmed. Zach is looking to defend his position ahead of hopefully being made mandatory to the World title held by P4P King Canelo Alvarez.
WBO ranked number four Super-Featherweight, Archie Sharp (19-0, 9 KOs) faces Nicaragua’s Marcio Soza (21-6-2, 12 KOs) with the vacant WBO Global championship on the line.
They had been due to meet at the weekend, but a COVID-19 issue involving Soza meant a short postponement.
Warren added: “Archie is another Queensberry fighter high in the world rankings and providing he keeps winning and remains patient his chance will come.”
“Zach Parker was hugely impressive in his last fight, seeing off Vaughan Alexander – who hadn’t previously been finished – in just 2 rounds.
“I believe he has the power to knockout anyone in his division and look forward to another exciting performance from him.”
More big fights will be added to the bill in the coming days.
Tickets will go on pre-sale with the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow and on general sale Thursday.
Ticket prices as follows:
Grand Tier & Loggia boxes – £100
2nd Tier boxes – £75
Front Stalls – £75
Rear Stalls – £50
Rausing Circle – £50
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ARCHIE SHARP GOES GLOBAL
ARCHIE SHARP WILL challenge for the vacant WBO Global super featherweight championship when he returns to the ring on Saturday June 5, live on BT Sport.
The 19-0 ‘Sharpshooter’ takes on Marcio Soza, 21-6-2 in his first fight since August of last year following his recovery from an arm injury.
The former WBO European champion, ranked at No.4 in the world by the governing body, will be entering into his first fight since switching his training base to Alan Smith’s Queensberry iBox Gym in Bromley and he is up against a Nicaraguan on an 11-fight winning streak and the holder of the WBA Fedelatin title, which he won in December of 2020.
“We are under two weeks out now and I literally cannot wait – I am very excited,” said the 26-year-old Sharp on his bid to win a second professional belt. “I’ve had a good 10-12 weeks camp after my injury and it has gone well
“I am fighting for the WBO Global title and it is what I needed really. I talk about trusting the process and I was going to be out on the Carl Frampton show before that got moved, I got injured and then this belt became vacant and I am now fighting a tough kid for a bigger title.
“It will put me in very good stead for where I want to be. Shakur Stevenson is fighting the No.2 (Jeremiah Nakathila) and I will be right there amongst it. I have defended the European belt three or four times now and I did get a little bit complacent in a couple of the fights. Having a new belt on the line is what I thrive on and I am buzzing for it.
“Marcio Soza is a tough kid and hasn’t been beaten since 2016. He has mixed with the likes of Francisco Fonseca and has been at a very good level, with over 20 wins and 12 stoppages. His losses came very early in his career and he is a 30-year-old man, so it is gonna be good and I am looking forward to it.
“He is definitely a Mexican-style fighter and I have watched a couple of little clips. He will certainly want to go toe-to-toe.”
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Daniel Dubois (15-1, 14 KOs) returns to the ring on Saturday June 5 when he takes on Bogdan Dinu (20-2, 16KOs) for the WBA Interim heavyweight title. Light heavyweight favourite Tommy Fury is also in action in his sixth fight as a professional.
WBO ranked number four featherweight, Archie Sharp (19-0, 9 KOs) returns in his first fight under new trainer Alan Smith, while Belfast Middleweight Caoimhin Agyarko (8-0, 5 KOs) will be aiming for his fifth successive inside the distance win. Stoke-on-Trent’s huge popular middleweight Nathan Heaney (11-0, 3 KOs) has his second fight under the Queensberry banner when he meets Bulgarian Iliyan Markov (6-14-2, 3 KOs).
Also on the show are unbeaten English bantamweight champion Liam Davies (8-0, 3 KOs), featherweight Adan Mohamed (1-0) and 18-year-old decorated amateur George Bance, who makes his professional debut after signing with Queensberry.
