AGYARKO TO FIGHT KELLY FOR IBF LIGHT-MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE IN SAUDI ARABIA

Caoimhin Agyarko of Belfast will challenge IBF light-middleweight champion Josh Kelly on Saturday, 25 July in Saudi Arabia. The fight will take place at the Jeddah Superdome as part of the undercard for Anthony Joshua's return against Kristian Prenga. Kelly, from Sunderland, will make his first title defence after winning the belt in January against Bakhram Murtazaliev. The bout was confirmed as official on Monday.

Agyarko was originally scheduled to face Brandon Adams in a final eliminator in April, but Adams collapsed before the weigh-in and did not compete. The IBF subsequently ordered another final eliminator between Agyarko and Murtazaliev. Kelly was then offered the option of a voluntary first defence, and negotiations resulted in the agreement to pit the champion against Agyarko instead. Agyarko's last fight was a split-decision victory over Ishmael Davis at Belfast's Windsor Park in December. Kelly has won eight consecutive bouts since his sole career loss to David Avanesyan in 2021.

The card will also feature Hamzah Sheeraz's first defence of the WBO super-middleweight title against Simon Zachenhuber of Germany. Agyarko stated that his manager Paul Ready secured the title fight after the cancellation of his April bout. The boxer said he had completed a 14-week training camp before the Adams fight was cancelled and described the title opportunity as a positive outcome following the initial disappointment.