Devin Haney v JoJo Diaz / Lyndon Arthur v Anthony Yarde II preview: Haney faces his biggest challenge to date

From London to Las Vegas, it’s a busy week in the world of boxing, with Lyndon Arthur taking on Anthony Yarde for the second time in under 12 months at the Copper Box Arena, whilst Devin Haney defends his WBC world title against Joseph Diaz in the MGM Grand.

Can Yarde overcome the man who dealt him the most disappointing defeat of his career? Will Haney complete the final hurdle before setting up an undisputed clash in early 2022?

Devin Haney vs JoJo Diaz

Just as we witnessed one of greatest lightweight world title fights in history last Saturday, the only remaining belt in the division is on the line this weekend as Devin Haney makes his fourth defence of the WBC world title against Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz.

With George Kambosas Jr. the newly appointed unified king of the lightweight division, the winner of Haney v Diaz will be in prime position to pick up the next shot at undisputed gold in early 2022; there’s a lot on the line for both fighters.

Although the 23-year-old Haney is widely thought as one of the hottest prospects in world boxing, his opponent in Diaz is a tried and tested former world champion at super-featherweight and seeks two-weight world champion status with victory on Saturday against an opponent six years his junior.

What’s more, the only defeat of Diaz’s career came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr., the reigning featherweight king, and he has yet to taste defeat at either super-featherweight or lightweight, which makes this, in the eyes of most, the toughest test of Haney’s career to date.

Still, Haney heads the betting as favourite to win at 1/7, with Diaz priced at 9/2 for the victory; the draw is 22/1.

Victory via KO, TKO or DQ can be placed at 3/1 for Haney and 12/1 Diaz, with victory via decision/technical decision 4/9 and 7/1 respectively.

Lyndon Arthur vs Anthony Yarde II

Almost a year to the day from their first meeting on December 5th last year, Arthur and Yarde will go toe-to-toe again to settle their war of words this Saturday, with the winner set to push on to fight for world honours next year.

Although both are the same age, Manchester born Arthur has shown to be the most mentally mature fighter of the two boxers, whilst Hackney born Yarde and trainer Tunde Ajayi have shown little humility in defeat and have seemingly failed to address their shortcomings heading into this rematch.

It was Arthur’s jab that dealt the most damage and clinched the victory in the first fight, as Yarde struggled to box at range with any danger, but both trainer and fighter believe that the victory was theirs in the first meeting.

Arthur has already suggested that nothing changes in the game plan. He believes he’s the smarter of the two fighters and has learnt lessons even in victory, and that the second meeting will be a lot less competitive than the first.

Yarde remains the heavier of the two punchers, however, which could explain why he heads the betting as favourite to win at 8/11, with Arthur priced at 11/10 for the victory; the draw is 16/1.

Victory via KO, TKO or DQ can be placed at 7/4 for Yarde and 7/1 Arthur, with victory via decision/technical decision 6/4 and 3/1 respectively.

Check out all the latest boxing betting odds at William Hill