The card headlined by Billy Joe Saunders' defence of the WBO super-middleweight title against Martin Murray on Friday December 4 is taking shape.
Matchroom Boxing have announced two undercard fights beneath the all-British world title main event, with James Tennyson (27-3, 23 KOs) facing off against Josh O’Reilly (16-0, 6 KOs) in an eliminator for the WBA lightweight title, while Saunders' mandatory challenger Zach Parker (19-0, 13 KOs) faces Spain's Cesar Nunez (17-2-1, 9 KOs) for the WBO International super-middleweight belt.
Northern Irishman Tennyson last competed back in August at Matchroom Fight Camp with a sixth-round stoppage of Wales' Gavin Gwynne to pick up the vacant British 135 lb championship.
"I've been grafting away with Eddie [Hearn] for over three years now and it has been an incredible journey, and while I’ve collected British, Commonwealth and European titles, I feel I'm only getting warmed up," Tennyson told Matchroom when the fight was confirmed.
"I want the full deck, so I am continuously prepared to go deep until I get the world title.
“Josh O’Reilly is undefeated and a great test for me, he is ranked 8 with the WBA and is their North American champion, I am number 10 and the WBA International champion, so we both have a lot to gain and it is a great achievement for us both to get this far.
“While it is pretty amazing to be out twice this year in big fights given the current climate we are living in, I’m getting pretty fed up with hearing these American's names being thrown about as the next big thing. I would take Gamboa out in a few rounds and after the O’Reilly eliminator, I want to be headlining bills!"
Unbeaten Canadian O'Reilly hasn't fought since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live boxing for several months, with his last outing over a year ago on Nov. 16, 2019, in a sixth-round stoppage of Mexico's Cecilio Santos in Brampton, Ontario.
The WBA lightweight title is currently held by Gervonta "Tank" Davis, who last fought in a spectacular knockout victory over Leo Santa Cruz on Halloween night in what is fast becoming the most stacked and exciting weight class in the sport today.
Meanwhile, Parker aims to be next in line for the winner of Saunders vs. Murray if he gets past Nunez just an hour or two before the world title headline attraction at the SSE Arena, Wembley.
“I’m here and I’m ready to go again,” said Parker. “Everyone knows I’m in the game to win world titles and fight on big shows. I’m ranked by the WBO as Billy Joe Saunders' mandatory, he knows who I am, and I’m coming for him. It is my dream to bring a world title back to Derby and I’ve worked really hard with my team to get into a place where we’re not far from a shot at that."
Matchroom have also announced that additional fights will join Saunders vs. Murray, Tennyson vs. O'Reilly and Parker vs. Nunez in due course. The event will be on Sky Sports in the U.K. and DAZN in the U.S.