The pair will clash on January 29 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Queensland, with Mundine swapping a predominant welterweight for an ex-160lber on the move down the weights.
“Obviously Carson Jones pulled out with just over a week to go, so we were chasing a credible experienced opponent at the last minute,” Mundine explained to World Boxing News.
“I need to stay active and keep sharp, and Billy Lyell has been in with the best at 160lbs so comes with a good record. He will come to fight and make an exciting fight for the fans.
“It’s a fight I have to win. I need to keep winning impressively to reach my goal, which is to WBA super-welterweight (154lb) champion by years end. Keep lining them up!”
Lyell, 29, comes with a chequered record over the past few years, having failed to win more than three fights in a row since 2006 and holds an overall C.V of 25 wins and eleven losses.
The Ohio native lost out when stopped in ten rounds by German Sebastian Sylvester in his only world title chance to date in 2010 and moved down to light-middleweight in February 2012 only to lose against Jonathan Gonzalez on points.
A low-key four-round victory followed that in February 2013, although Lyell will head to Australia as a massive underdog to derail Mundine’s attempts to win a third recognised belt in as many weight-classes next week.
Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay for tweets of upcoming news on WBN
