With no end in sight to the talks of a WBO light heavyweight title bout between Sergey Kovalev and Anthony Yarde, the organization has ordered another purse bid in the coming days.
The WBO announced that a purse bid will take place in New York on July 11 at 10 a.m. ET with the minimum bid being $300,000 and Kovalev getting the majority of the winning bid due to him being the champion.
Back in March, the WBO ordered the two boxers to undergo negotiations, but after an initial purse bid was ordered, it appeared that they agreed to terms on a deal after Bob Arum said the fight would be headed to Russia. But talks have stalled on trying to secure a date and venue and as such, the WBO is looking to have a purse bid in less than a week in order to get a title bout in the coming months.
Kovalev won the WBO title last February when he defeated Eleider Alvarez by unanimous decision in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing card that was streamed on ESPN+. Kovalev is currently in his third world title reign as the WBO champion at 175 pounds.
Yarde is a 27-year-old fighter from the United Kingdom who has won all 18 of his fights since making his pro debut back in 2015. Yarde won the WBO European and WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight titles in 2017, making multiple defenses of each title, and is coming off a fifth-round stoppage win over Travis Reeves on March 8.