Sandoval is expected to defend his 112-pound titles against Yafai on June 6 in Sheffield, England, as the co-main event of WBC junior lightweight champion Dalton Smith’s title defense against Alberto Puello on DAZN.

Sandoval manager Abraham Perez, head of State of the Art Boxing, told The Ring that an announcement of their upcoming assignment is imminent.

“Ricardo Sandoval is headed back to the UK, this time to Sheffield on June 6 as a unified champion, and the mission is not just to defend, but to dominate and continue the climb in chasing greatness,” said Perez.

“Ricardo has built his name the hard way – as the underdog. But those days are over. Now, he steps into the ring as the champion, and he’s giving the interim champion Yafai his shot. We’ve been here before. We know what it takes to walk into another country and come out on top.”

Sandoval is rated No. 1 by The Ring at 112 pounds, Yafai No. 5.

Sandoval (27-2, 18 KOs) and company are as confident as ever going into the clash against Yafai. The 27-year-old from Los Angeles traveled to Japan in July and snatched the titles from Kenshiro Teraji with a hard-fought split-decision win.

Sandoval also has experience fighting on British soil. In 2021, he blasted Jay Harris inside eight rounds in Bolton.

It remains to be seen what version of Yafai (9-0, 7 KOs) shows up to slug it out with Sandoval. The 33-year-old southpaw from Birmingham hasn’t fought since suffering a brutal beating against Francisco Rodriguez Jr. in June.

Yafai, the WBC interim titleholder at the time, suffered a one-sided, unanimous decision loss to Rodriguez, absorbing 575 punches, 528 of which were power shots.

But the loss was clouded with controversy. Less than three weeks after their encounter, it was revealed that Rodriguez tested positive for a banned substance, and the result was later ruled a No Contest.

Prior to the Rodriguez fight, Yafai, a 2020 Olympic gold medalist for Great Britain, scored a career-best stoppage victory against Sunny Edwards in November 2024.