After several weeks of calling out British champion Viddal Riley, explosive cruiserweight prospect Aloys Junior has now secured a different domestic bout.
The 22-year-old power puncher will instead face Ellis Zorro in a somewhat unexpected pairing, representing a calculated step up in competition for Junior.
Their intriguing encounter, scheduled for July 26 at the Bournemouth International Centre, was recently announced as part of the undercard for the Ryan Garner vs Reece Bellotti event.
Despite accepting the fight on short notice, Junior (10-1, 9 KOs), who is coming off a third-round stoppage victory against David Jamieson in May, is not expected to show any signs of ring rust.
In fact, `The Animal,` as he is known, appears more eager than ever to step back into the ring, particularly after his potential fight with Riley (13-0, 7 KOs) did not come to fruition.
At one point, a British title clash between them seemed highly probable, with Riley having expressed openness to facing his domestic rival.
Regardless of the opponent, Junior intends to continue embracing the `villain` persona, which seems to have become his trademark, as he prepares for his assignment later this month.
Standing in his way is Ellis Zorro (18-2, 7 KOs), whose most significant win was an emphatic seventh-round finish over Hosea Burton in 2023.
More recently, the 32-year-old Zorro has suffered stoppage losses to IBF world champion Jai Opetaia and Cheavon Clarke. However, he ended a two-fight winless streak with a six-round victory in April.
Regarding Junior’s Commonwealth title, which he claimed after defeating Jamieson, it remains to be seen if the belt will be contested against Zorro.
In addition to the Junior vs Zorro announcement, Queensberry Promotions also revealed that undefeated super-welterweight prospects Carl Fail and Amir Abubaker will clash on the same card.
On a less positive note, it was announced that talented super-featherweight Royston Barney-Smith has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Danny Quartermaine due to injury.
