News reached The Ring that European welterweight champion David Avanesyan will defend against Oskari Metz at an as yet unknown venue, likely to be somewhere in the U.K., in March.

Avanesyan, who is rated No. 7 by The Ring at 147 pounds, has made four defenses of the title. If successful against Metz, it is believed he will have to make a mandatory defense against France’s Jordy Weiss. However, the possibility exists that the hard-punching Avanesyan may target – and finally secure – bigger game.

The 33-year-old Russian is promoted by Queensberry Promotions and managed by Neil Marsh. He claimed the EBU title in Spain with a come-from-behind stoppage over Kerman Lejarraga (KO 9) and proved that was no fluke by beating the Spaniard in a direct rematch inside a round.

He has since tallied defenses over Jose Del Rio (KO 1), Josh Kelly (TKO 6) and Liam Taylor (TKO 2) to take his record to 28-3-1 (16 knockouts).

The 30-year-old Metz, who turned professional in 2016, is somewhat of an unknown. The Finland-born fighter is unbeaten with a record of 15-0 (5 KOs) but has never had a fight scheduled beyond eight rounds.

It was also revealed that the bout between Edis Tatli (32-3, 10 KOs) and Gianluca Ceglia (17-3-1, 4 KOs), to fill the European lightweight vacancy in Finland on March 12, has been postponed due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in Finland. Ceglia will now face the highest ranked contender, which according to the current EBU rankings, is former holder Francisco Patera (25-3, 9 KOs). It is not known whether or not Patera has accepted.

The winner would have to face Tatli in their first defense.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on Twitter @AnsonWainwright

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