AFTER several weeks of goading British champion Viddal Riley, explosive cruiserweight prospect Aloys Junior has now landed himself a slightly different domestic dustup.
Instead, the 22-year-old will take on Ellis Zorro in a somewhat unexpected clash, representing a calculated step-up in levels for the destructive puncher.
Their intriguing showdown, which takes place at the Bournemouth International Centre on July 26, was announced for the undercard of Ryan Garner vs Reece Bellotti just yesterday.
But despite taking the fight on short notice, Junior, 10-1 (9 KOs), who comes off a three-round demolition job against David Jamieson in May, should not suffer from the slightest bit of ring rust come fight night.
In fact, it could be said that ‘The Animal’ is eager, now more than ever, to be let out of his cage, particularly after his potential fight with Riley, 13-0 (7 KOs), failed to materialise.
At one stage, their British title encounter seemed far more likely to take place, with Riley even expressing an openness to square off against his domestic rival.
But regardless, Junior will look to continue playing the ‘villain,’ which has seemingly become his new moniker, as he gears up for his next assignment later this month.
Standing in his way of bigger and better things, however, is Zorro, 18-2 (7 KOs), whose most notable win arrived via an emphatic seventh-round finish over Hosea Burton in 2023.
More recently, the 32-year-old has suffered stoppage defeats to IBF world champion Jai Opetaia and Cheavon Clarke, with a six-round blowout in April ending his two-fight winless run.
As for Junior’s Commonwealth title, which he claimed following his victory over Jamieson, it remains to be seen whether the colourful strap is up for grabs against Zorro.
Along with Junior vs Zorro, meanwhile, came the Queensberry Promotions announcement that unbeaten super-welterweight prospects Carl Fail and Amir Abubaker will collide on the same card.
On a far more disappointing note, it was also revealed that super-featherweight talent Royston Barney-Smith has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled outing against Danny Quartermaine with an injury.
