Anthony Yarde’s trainer and manager Babatunde Ajayi is targeting a fight with Joshua Buatsi.
Yarde in November was stopped by David Benavidez, contributing to speculation that he will move up to cruiserweight, and while Ajayi continues to believe that he remains destined for the cruiserweight division he is adamant that a contest between London’s two leading light heavyweights needs to be made.
The 34-year-old Yarde’s return from Dubai has been delayed by the unrest that exists in the Middle East and, until he returns to the English capital, Ajayi will delay speaking to him about his future.
He is, however, certain that Yarde “wants” to finally fight Buatsi – a stadium contest between them had seemed likely in the summer of 2024 – and also doesn’t expect Yarde to want a tune-up opponent upon his return to the ring.
“It’s a fight I’ve always wanted to see, and a fight I still feel has to get made,” Ajayi told BoxingScene. “It’s one of those Kell Brook-Amir Khan situations, where the people aren’t gonna be satisfied until they see that fight. Especially, that fight, will sell out Wembley [Arena]. There’s no other contest that people wanna see in the UK than that fight. It’s still a massive, massive, massive fight. If we can put a title at the end of it that’d be the icing on the cake but it’s a fight I’ve always wanted to see; a fight both boys are at the prime stages of their career where they should fight.
“I know Ant would want it. I know Joshua would want it. Great fighters. Great for British boxing.
“Ant’s at a stage, he’s a golden fighter, isn’t he? Can you ever see Ant, at this stage of his career, taking tune-ups? But ultimately Ant has always been the boss, so he makes the final decision. I’m always there to back and support him, so we’ll see.
“He’s always training. He’s been a pro for 10 years now, so he knows the sport; he always keeps himself in shape; he doesn’t drink; he doesn’t smoke. So it’s just about getting himself back in fighting mode, mentally. Give him another six weeks in the gym, he’s ready.”
Buatsi, 32, earlier in November struggled to convince in a majority decision victory over Zach Parker. His promoter Frank Warren spoke after Benavidez-Yarde of his potential interest in reviving a fight between them, and to that end, Ajayi explained that Yarde’s appearance in the WBA cruiserweight rankings doesn’t necessarily indicate that that will be his next move.
“When he comes back, we’ll see where he is and make a decision,” he said. “I’ve said it from the beginning of his career – he’s been a cruiserweight from the beginning of his career. It’s just total discipline that has allowed him to campaign at light heavy. But he’s getting older; he’s not getting any younger, and maybe within himself he feels that it’s just taking more out of him making the weight. I’ve got no qualms about Ant moving up to cruiserweight because as I said, at the beginning of his career, he’s a cruiserweight.
“It’s very hard to say anything unless Ant’s in front of you. When Ant’s in front of you he’ll make the decision.”
Ajayi was also asked about his welterweight Joel Kodua, the reigning English champion, and revealed that he expects Kodua to step up in class on the undercard of Adam Azim’s next fight in May, given that he had been on course to fight Conor Benn’s former opponent Peter Dobson earlier in March.
“It’s gonna be a good opponent,” he said. “He was going to fight Peter Dobson. That would have been a big step up, internationally, for Joel, but that wasn’t to be, so we’re just waiting for an announcement – maybe May, end of May, [with] Adam Azim topping the bill at Wembley [Arena].”
