Callum Smith vs. Anthony Yarde - Summer 2025

[Ruthless-RKO]

CALLUM SMITH AGAINST ANTHONY YARDE IN THE WORKS FOR AUGUST, FIGHT COULD LAND IN RIYADH

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 allegedly 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.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I mean he already beaten Buatsi.

Do one over Yarde now

[lefthook82]

Cuts him in half to the body. This will be easy for Callum

[Ricky]

Good fight, I think both are a similar level, been in with Beterbiev and came up short in a similar way. I think it will come down to;

What version of Yarde shows up?
Is Smith getting old?

It's possible Yarde gets the stoppage if he brings his A game, but anything less than Smith comfortable on points.

[Manchester Hitman]

I’ve got a feeling Yarde might win, especially with Callum coming from that war with Buatsi not long ago.

I’ve always felt when I thought about the fight, that Anthonys style would suit this particular job.

Good fight either way. It’s a shame it will be in an half empty venue in Riyad. A 5v5 headed by this in say the new Manchester Arena or the 02 would be a cracking occasion.

[Delta Jay]

Really funny when they say “the ring has learned…” yeah you were told by the guy who owns you who is putting on this show

[maverick23]

I’ve got a feeling Yarde might win, especially with Callum coming from that war with Buatsi not long ago.

I’ve always felt when I thought about the fight, that Anthonys style would suit this particular job.

Good fight either way. It’s a shame it will be in an half empty venue in Riyad. A 5v5 headed by this in say the new Manchester Arena or the 02 would be a cracking occasion.

Callum will be full of confidence after the Buatsi fight whilst I don’t think Yarde has been good since Beterbiev. A couple of very low level wins and then looked pretty average against Vilcans and Arthur.

I think Smith wins. Yarde isn’t difficult to hit (Arthur caught him with something like 150 shots in their last fight) and Smith has genuine power I think and wins at a much higher level.

[margaret thatcher]

yardes lost to every half live opponent he's faced now that i think about it

[maverick23]

yardes lost to every half live opponent he's faced now that i think about it

Bar Arthur, he doesn’t have any creditable wins. And he lost to Arthur too and their last fight was pretty close.

I’ve never particularly rated Arthur either. Very close fights against Suarez and Cameron I think shows his level which is probably British.

[keithmoonhangover]

Yarde doesn't have the punch output to win this on points, so he's needs to get struck by lightning twice while holding the winning lottery ticket. Still, he's got Tunde. Lions in the CampTM

[margaret thatcher]

arthurs claim to fame is beating yarder, who then got credit for beating a ranked fighter......who was only ranked because they beat him

[Ruthless-RKO]

arthurs claim to fame is beating yarder, who then got credit for beating a ranked fighter......who was only ranked because they beat him

The only ranked boxer he beat and he got ranked for beating Yarde. Haha

[Taansend]

If Yarde treats this as last chance saloon this could be a cracking fight along the lines of Watson v Benn.

The big puncher throwing everything at the better boxer before running out of steam, ideas & everything else.

But I can see Yarde just fiddling along always being a step or two behind Smith & eventually losing a 117-111 or so fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

“The fight was sealed in February,” said Ajayi.

“All we needed to do was get past Lyndon Arthur, so there’s no more ducking, talking bad about anybody, let’s fight. It’s the only fight that makes sense.”

Smith and Yarde form part of a crop that saw the Liverpool man scalp the previously unbeaten Buatsi, Callum Johnson move up to cruiserweight, Craig Richards lose to Willy Hutchinson, who then lost to Buatsi, and Arthur lose his trilogy fight to Yarde. That leaves, according to Ajayi, Yarde – 27-3 (24 KOs) – and 35-year-old Smith, 31-2 (22 KOs), as the last men standing in the division in the UK.

“Callum’s [WBO] interim champion, we’re now rated high in the WBO and the WBA after the fight last Saturday. It’s a fight I’ve personally wanted to see for a very long time. Two of Britain’s best. We will see who really is the number one in Britain. These are the only two names in the conversation now. Nobody else. I repeat, nobody else is in this conversation but Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde. So let’s do it. Let’s go. August, Riyadh. It’s on.”

[gregregegg]

arthurs claim to fame is beating yarder, who then got credit for beating a ranked fighter......who was only ranked because they beat him

Bit like how fury became the king from beating him wilder..: who was only rated high by people cause he drew with fury…

Boxing is a silly world.

[THEBUTCH]

Yarde lets everyone else do the hardwork and then tries to cash in on their efforts & achievements.

Smith should be boxing a bigger name after his fantastic win over Buatsi.

Yarde should be targeting a different Callum....Simpson. More his level.

[SeanBrennan]

Yarde lets everyone else do the hardwork and then tries to cash in on their efforts & achievements.

Smith should be boxing a bigger name after his fantastic win over Buatsi.

Yarde should be targeting a different Callum....Simpson. More his level.

Callum Simpson is a quality fighter, I think he can go to world level. He is also currently doing a huge fundraiser for a local charity, proper decent human

[THEBUTCH]

Simpson is a good boxer and deserves to test himself against a recognisable name....Yarde fits that bill. The problem is Yarde has always had ideas above his station.

[SeanBrennan]

I have no idea who would win this fight actually, what does everyone think? I would have favoured Yarde before Smith's performance against Buatsi.

[joshj909]

Smith wins this comfortably for me. Buatsi is better than Yarde and we all saw how that went. Yarde often looks good in his losses to higher level guys but he's never beaten even a mid level opponent.

[TheLeprechaun]

Gotta think Smith takes it. Yarde will have a punches chance but Smith has good power with his short shots. Yarde probably needs to get inside to be effective but Smith will take the fight inside himself. Screams an action fight while it lasts. Callum Johnson would have been a good addition to the domestic scene

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Delta Jay]

Simpson is a good boxer and deserves to test himself against a recognisable name....Yarde fits that bill. The problem is Yarde has always had ideas above his station.

That’s the phrase I’ve always been looking for for Yarde.

He’s got a severe case of The Notions.

[THEBUTCH]

Yep, a mistaken sense of grandeur.

We're lucky in Britain that we have lots of boxing royalty. Fighters who've earned their place with achievement....Yarde has not.

[Ruthless-RKO]

PLANS FOR AUGUST MATCHROOM-QUEENSBERRY '5V5' CARD SHELVED, YARDE VS. SMITH STILL IN THE WORKS

LONDON, England - The second edition of the Matchroom-Queensberry ‘5v5’ event has been put on ice, promoter allegedly has revealed.

The two biggest promoters in British boxing had been set to pit their stables against each other once again with plans for the show to take place in August.

As reported by The Ring two months ago, allegedly and Eddie Hearn had even submitted their draft list of 10 fighters each with a view to whittling it down to five high quality bouts to take place on the same card.

It is understood that a light-heavyweight battle between Queensberry man Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith, a long-time Matchroom fighter, was one of the potential fights and that may yet take place this summer. Smith and Yarde are rated at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively by The Ring.

But Warren, the Queensberry boss, has now confirmed that it will not take place as part of a 5v5 with plans for that event shelved until further notice.

He told The Ring: “There’s no 5v5 in August. There will be a show then but it won’t be the 5v5 as had previously been discussed.

“I don’t know what will be on that card yet, but there’s no 5v5 on there.”

Queensberry crushed Matchroom in the first event in June 2024, winning all five fights and ending with a score of 10-0 but Hearn will have to wait a little while longer for revenge.

And while Yarde may yet take on Smith this summer, Warren also confirmed that the Beast from the East is in the running to face David Benavidez too.

With Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev slated to face each other in a trilogy fight, Mexican Monster Benavidez recently revealed that he is hoping to fight either Yarde or Smith in the meantime.

Yarde is currently 27-3 (24) as a result of his decision victory over Lyndon Arthur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in The Ring’s Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves event on April 26. Warren confirmed he is currently putting plans in place for Yarde’s next outing and says it could be either Smith or Benavidez in the opposite corner.

He added: “Either of those two. We’re working on it at the moment and will hopefully be able to announce something soon.”