Johnson’s trainer Joe Gallagher has revealed to WBN that fighting Yarde isn’t an option for them at the moment.
Almost immediately after Johnson’s British title win, a fight with Yarde was proposed as the Frank Warren star was linked to a fight with Buglioni previously.
When asked if the Yarde fight interests them, Gallagher exclusively told World Boxing News: “Yeah Anthony Yarde was scheduled for a final eliminator against Hosea Burton (which he didn’t take), so he can’t fight for the British title for 12-18 months, meaning that isn’t an option for us at the moment.
“So yeah I’m sure that’s a great fight that can happen down the road but I know Frank [Warren] has got his own plan for Anthony Yarde and I understood his point of view.
“Frank Buglioni v Anthony Yarde was a huge fight for London, as Frank said – it would make history. Buglioni was looking at defending against Hosea Burton or Anthony Yarde and they were the huge money fights and really, he should have taken it whilst it was on the table, I understand it was a big seller.”
Gallagher then questioned whether Johnson vs. Yarde would be of similar stature to the Capital city fans.
“Is Callum Johnson and Anthony Yarde a bigger seller in London? I don’t think so and I think Frank has his own plan out for Yarde now that they’ve seen he’s highly ranked in the WBO and I’m sure Frank will be pushing him for a world title shot.
“Callum Johnson is now going to have one or two quick fights defending those titles and pushing on to European scene, leading to the world scene as well. Callum is no spring chicken but saying that though; he is twice as fresh for a 32 year old and he’s not been in any hard wars.”
Concluding on Johnson, Gallagher recalled sharing the winning moment at The O2: “I said on the morning of the fight, at breakfast I said to Callum Johnson you had a harder fight for the Commonwealth title than you have for the British title.
“I’ll remind you that in the changing rooms afterward and I did do and we agreed on it,” he said.
Chandler Waller is a staff writer for World Boxing News. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerWaller
