Fight expected to start late (4)
I believe the answer is:
duel
'fight' is the definition.
(dueling is a kind of fighting)
'expected to start late' is the wordplay.
'expected' becomes 'due' (similar in meaning).
'to start' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'late' is 'l'.
'due'+'l'='DUEL'
(Other definitions for duel that I've seen before include "Contest between two with deadly weapons" , "One got satisfaction from this" , "Two-person combat" , "Prearranged fight with deadly weapons between two people" , "Fight to the death between two people" .)