JOSHUA BUATSI and Anthony Yarde are set for an all-British blockbuster amid talks for a Wembley fight in the summer.
The light-heavyweight stars have long talked up a huge domestic dustup but promotional and TV alliances stood in the way.
But it appears bosses from Sky Sports and Boxxer – who represent Buatsi – and Queensberry Promotions and TNT on behalf of Yarde are ready to strike a deal.
According to Boxing News, talks are already progressing behind the scenes with a summer bout eyed.
And it would be expected to fall at the 12,500-seat Wembley Arena, where Buatsi recently beat London rival Dan Azeez.
Yarde returns tomorrow night against Marko Nikolic but has called out Buatsi as the man he wants to face next.
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Never have Sky and TNT – formerly BT – worked together on a shared pay-per-view.
But the bridge was due to be gapped for Tyson Fury’s super-fight against Oleksandr Usyk on February 17.
Before it was rescheduled to May 18 due to a cut Fury sustained in sparring, TNT, Sky and DAZN were all signed on as PPV broadcasters.
It marked a huge step for boxing in the UK and broke down barriers previously starving fans of the biggest fights.
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Buatsi’s promoter Ben Shalom told BBC Sport: “Buatsi-Azeez did so well on tickets and interest but Buatsi v Yarde is on another level. It’s another London grudge match.
“I do believe the Anthony Yarde fight is what both Boxxer and Queensberry want and I believe that fight will happen in the next few months.
“Buatsi wants to remain active. It’s the biggest fight for both of them and then we can see the winner fight for a world title.”
Buatsi, 30, beat Azeez, 34, on points to become next in line for the WBA world title.
But champion Dmitry Bivol, 33, is signed for a unification against Artur Beterbiev, 39, and a rematch could also follow.
So with a world title challenge seemingly out of sight, he has set his sights on fellow Londoner Yarde, 32.
Yarde was beaten by Beterbiev in a thriller last year for the world titles while also losing to Sergey Kovalev, 40, three years ago.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
