Unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev was supposed to clash against WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde in October, but he suffered an undisclosed injury that delayed the fight.
Beterbiev trainer Marc Ramsay later revealed that the Russian needed additional time to heal from a minor right knee operation.
In June, the WBC, WBO, and IBF titleholder Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) demolished Joe Smith Jr. at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York inside two rounds.
Promoter Frank Warren said Monday that Beterbiev and Yarde are on track to meet Jan. 28.
But first, Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) will take a tune-up fight against a still-to-be determined opponent on Nov. 19 in Telford, United Kingdom.
“[Yarde is] going to fight on the same card as Zach [Parker], and then he’ll have the fight for the three titles, and that’ll be on the 28th of January next year,” Warren told IFL TV. “He’s not had a fight in 12 months now, so he needs to get some ring rust out of his system.”