Highly-skilled South African Zolani Tete will meet Arthur Villanueva in an eliminator for the WBO bantamweight title in Manchester, England, on April 8.

Tete, who is rated No. 8 by THE RING at 118 pounds, is determined to win several world titles at different weights and plans to make a big splash in 2017. Currently promoted by Frank Warren, this will be his third successive appearance on U.K. soil.

“It has always been my dream to fight for another world title,” said Tete (24-3, 20 knockouts). “I’m very excited about the fight but I know it is one that I can’t lose if I want another world title belt around my waist.

“From what I have seen of (Villanueva) I can tell he’s a strong fighter and hopefully he will put up a good fight against me but Zolani Tete will be victorious on the night.

Tete continued, “I’m delighted to be returning to the UK. It’s a great feeling and I won’t disappoint my U.K. fans. I’m going to put on an exciting show like always.”

The 28-year-old Villanueva, from the Philippines, holds a top record of 30-1-0 (16 KOs). His lone loss came against former IBF junior bantamweight titleholder McJoe Arroyo.

Also on the card, local hero Terry Flanagan makes the fifth defense of his WBO lightweight title against dangerous Russian Petr Petrov. Fierce junior middleweight rivals Liam Smith and Liam Williams clash in an all-British showdown. Double Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams fights for the first time as a professional and former Team GB heavyweight Daniel Dubois makes his highly-anticipated professional debut. More exciting fights to be announced shortly.

Tickets for April 8 priced £50, £70, £100, £150, £200, £300 and VIP £500 are available from eventim at www.eventim.co.uk and 0844 249 1000 and the Manchester Arena at www.manchester-arena.com and 0844 847 8000.

Information courtesy of a press release issued by Frank Warren PR

Tom Gray is a UK Correspondent/ Editor for RingTV.com and a member of THE RING ratings panel. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

Struggling to locate a copy of RING magazine? Try here or…

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to the print and digital editions of RING magazine by clicking the banner or here. You can also order the current issue, which is on newsstands, or back issues from our subscribe page. On the cover this month: THE RING 2016 Fighter of the Year, Carl Frampton.