Two of the biggest punchers in British boxing — light heavyweight Anthony Yarde and heavyweight Daniel Dubois — are ready to put on a Friday afternoon show for American fight fans.
In the main event, Yarde will defend his WBO Intercontinental belt in a 10-rounder against Baltimore native Travis “Seveer” Reeves at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London. In one of the co-features, Dubois will battle former world title challenger Razvan Cojanu in a 10-rounder for the vacant WBO Global belt.
Yarde-Reeves will headline a live five-fight stream beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT on ESPN+ — the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.
Yarde (17-0, 16 KOs) has knocked out 15 opponents in a row, a streak that dates back to his second professional bout in June 2015. He is the WBO No. 2 contender for the belt currently held by Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. Before a potential world title shot, he must get past Reeves (17-3-2, 7 KOs), a 38-year-old Baltimore native who has won two bouts in a row. In his last ring outing, Jan. 17 in Las Vegas, he knocked down Lanell Bellows (18-3-2 at the time) twice en route to a well-earned unanimous decision win.
Dubois (9-0, 8 KOs) is the latest in the long line of fearsome British heavyweight punchers, a London native who has turned heads since turning pro in April 2017. His only decision victory came in his last bout, a dominant performance over veteran Kevin Johnson that streamed on ESPN+. Dubois was originally supposed to face Cojanu in December, but he contracted the flu during fight week and had to pull out. Cojanu (16-5, 9 KOs) challenged Joseph Parker for the WBO heavyweight title in May 2017, losing a unanimous decision in a game effort. In his most recent bout, he pushed unbeaten prospect Nathan Gorman the 12-round distance in a losing effort.
In other action live on ESPN+:
Liam “The Machine” Williams (19-2-1, 14 KOs) will make the first defense of his British middleweight title against “Smokin” Joe Mullender (11-2, 5 KOs). Williams won the title on Dec. 22 with a thrilling 10th-round TKO over Mark Heffron.
British welterweight champion Johnny “The Pexican” Garton (23-1-1, 10 KOs) will make the first defense of his title against Chris Jenkins (20-3-2, 8 KOs).
Hamzah Sheeraz (6-0, 2 KOs) will take on Rod Douglas Jr. (2-1, 0 KOs) in a super welterweight tilt scheduled for six rounds.
Fight # 1 – 18:30 hrs
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Super-Bantamweight Contest
JAKE PETTITT 9st 5lbs 9oz V 8st 13lbs 4oz STEFAN SLAVCHEV
Fight # 2
4 X 3 Minute Rounds International Middleweight Contest
DENZEL BENTLEY 11st 8lb 7oz V ADAM GRABIEC
Fight # 3
8 X 3 Minute Rounds International Featherweight Contest
LUCIEN REID 8st 11lbs 12oz V 8st 12lbs 4oz INDI SANGHA
BT SPORTS BROADCAST COMMENCES @ 19:30 HRS
Fight # 4 – 19:35 hrs
THE BRITISH WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
12 X 3 Minute Rounds
JOHNNY GARTON 10st 6lbs 1oz V 10st 6lbs 4oz CHRIS JENKINS
Fight # 5
6 X 3 Minute Rounds Super-Welterweight Contest
HAMZA SHEERAZ 11st 1lb 12oz V 1st 1lb 14oz ROD DOUGLAS JNR
Fight # 6
THE VACANT WBO EUROPEAN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
10 X 3 Minute Rounds
DANIEL DUBOIS 17st 2lbs 7oz V 18st 13lbs RAZVAN COJANU
Fight # 7
THE BRITISH MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
12 X 3 Minute Rounds
LIAM WILLIAMS 11st 4lbs 12oz V 11st 5lbs 4oz JOE MULLENDER
Fight # 8
THE WBO INTERCONTINENTAL LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
10 X 3 Minute Rounds
ANTHONY YARDE 12st 6lbs 4oz V 12st 6lbs 8oz TRAVIS REEVES
Fight # 9 – Floater
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Cruiserweight Contest
JAMES BRANCH JNR 14st 5lbs 12oz V 14st 5lbs 2oz KIEIRAN PITMAN
Fight # 10 – Floater
4 X 3 Minute Rounds Flyweight Contest
HARVEY HORN V PATRIK BARTOS
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