Hackney's Anthony Yarde is keen to settle his unfinished business with Ricky Summers before targeting the winner of Joshua Buatsi and Dan Azeez.
The 32-year-old was due to face English light-heavyweight champion Summers on Saturday at Wembley's OVO Arena - where he lost to classy unified world light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in January in his second shot at a world title.
However, 36-year-old orthodox specialist Summers, who outpointed Joel McIntyre in Wolverhampton in his last outing in March, pulled out days before fight night due to injury.
Late replacement Jorge Silva, 40, held Portuguese super-middleweight and light-heavyweight titles and a 22-9 record but was simply no match for Yarde as he lasted just two rounds.
After starting with a chopping right hand that saw Silva pinned to the corner, Yarde moved in with a body shot before finishing the job with a solid right hand.
The knockout victory, timed at 2.07 of round two, was Yarde’s 24th pro success in 27 contests and he appeared as chief support to China’s Zhilei Zhang repeat WBO interim world heavyweight title success over South Londoner Joe Joyce in front of the live TNT Sport cameras.
“It’s good to just be back in there,” Yarde told Queensberry Promotions YouTube channel.
“Because that’s the whole thing of getting the ring experience.
“I haven’t been in the ring for nine months. We’ve had an opponent (Summers) but he pulled out. Hopefully I can fight Ricky Summers because he was meant to fight this fight.
"He said he’s injured so hopefully we can fight him before the end of the year.”
Good friends Buatsi and European title holder Azeez, who are both promoted by BOXXER, meet in an all-South London clash on October 21 at The O2, London which has been billed as a final eliminator for Russia’s Dmitry Bivol’s WBA (Super) world title.
“You’ve got Joshua Buatsi fighting Dan Azeez next month,” added Yarde.
“If I can squeeze one more in before the end of the year it will be good and then next year I want to fight the winner (of Buatsi and Azeez)."
Promoter Frank Warren will also be keeping an eye on the Buatsi-Azeez clash and told TNT Sport: “I genuinely think Buatsi and Azeez with the winner wouldn’t be a problem for us. That’s pushing an open door that one.
"Outside of the world champions Yarde is the best. In terms of the winner of Buatsi and Azeez, nothing should stand in the way of making that happen.
“We’ve been talking about it for a long time. We’ve tried to make it a couple of times and it wasn’t to be.
“It’s only a matter of time before Yarde wins a world title but we’ve got to make big fights for him in the meantime and the situation is the winner of that fight (Buatsi and Azeez) against Anthony is a huge fight for this country and nothing should stand in the way of making that.”
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