JOSHUA BUATSI and Anthony Yarde struck an agreement to fight each other next year - thanks to the help of rapper Stormzy.
The London light-heavyweight pair have been primed for a British blockbuster ever since bursting on to the scene.
And after Yarde's most recent win, he went out of his way to call out Buatsi, who puts friendship aside on October 21 against Dan Azeez.
But in secret, the two already made a verbal agreement to finally fight in 2024 after attending a bash hosted by Stormzy.
Buatsi told SunSport: “Stormzy had like a birthday party. We were both invited and we were talking and that’s when we mentioned it as well.
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“The only thing about that was I think a couple of days later I see an interview where his energy was a bit different.
“And I was thinking, ‘That’s mad. Because when I was with you a couple of days ago you wasn’t saying any of that. You was talking normal.’
“But again, he’s saying what he’s supposed to say, so hopefully it can happen next year.”
Americans Errol Spence Jr, 33, and Terence Crawford, 35, had enough of middle men and decided to call each other up to negotiate their super-fight.
Crawford ran out a convincing winner over nine rounds but it was his work outside the ring which has made the most impact.
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Buatsi said: “The Spence and Crawford fight, they took matters into their own hands and made it happen.
"It’s important and good to see that boxers are doing that.”
Yarde, 32, has twice failed in his world title attempts and most recently shared a hellacious eight-round war with Artur Beterbiev, 38.
Meanwhile Buatsi, 30, can put himself next in line for Dmitry Bivol's WBA belt with a win over close pal Azeez, 34, at the O2 Arena.
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But Yarde is hoping to tempt the winner into a domestic detour as he issued out a public challenge.
But Buatsi hit back: “I think he’s saying what he’s supposed to say.
"What would have caught my attention is anything Azeez may or may not have said.
"I’m fighting Dan next, what Yarde is saying I don’t really care about.
"But of course, it’s a fight that people are interested in, a fight that people want to see happen and a fight I’d like to have myself.
“So it’s great that he’s calling me out, it’s fantastic.”
- Watch Buatsi vs Azeez live on Sky Sports on October 21st from The O2 in London. Tickets available via BOXXER.com
