Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde | BT Sport - 28 January 2023

[brilo33]

BT have put up a short interview with Yarde. Two things :
1) he refers to the fight with Beterbiev as a Blockbuster. Not so....it's a big deal to Yarde, but a step down for Beterbiev.

2) he says "someone is getting knocked out". Well, yes...but the insuation being it could be either one of them. If anyone is getting knocked out, it's Yarde

Yarde has no more chance in this fight than Paul Butler does with Nayoa Inoue.

i dont know inoue is untouchable but every man is human i think that is a fair enough call ill be far more shocked if butler beat Inoue

[THEBUTCH]

Yes, Inoue is pretty much flawless.


Look at Queensbury pointing to their stoppage percentages

Yeah, Yarde's 88% success rate was compiled against just as good a quality opposition as Beterbiev's.

I doubt Yarde would beat half of Beterbiev's opponents let alone stop every one of them !

[brilo33]

Yes, Inoue is pretty much flawless.


Look at Queensbury pointing to their stoppage percentages

Yeah, Yarde's 88% success rate was compiled against just as good a quality opposition as Beterbiev's.

I doubt Yarde would beat half of Beterbiev's opponents let alone stop every one of them !

well i think Yarde only real world class win is against kk but kk was finished by then but Beterbiev hasnt fought that tough of oppo either his last 3 to me were his best Callum Johnson was on par with yarde i think Gvozdyk was a top win Marcus Browne was a good oppo but he didnt fight at his best i think joe smith was a very good win

[margaret thatcher]

yarde didnt beat kov, he got outboxed then ko'd by a jab

[brilo33]

yarde didnt beat kov, he got outboxed then ko'd by a jab

soz i meant fought against he run out of gas and got stopped ,surprised he came back

[DrDuke]

Yarde will be massacred. Hopefully Beter vs Bivol gets made after this mismatch.

[Black Sam Bellamy]

Not on PPV I see. Fair play.

[TheLeprechaun]

yarde didnt beat kov, he got outboxed then ko'd by a jab

He could have won but went in with an amateur preparation and an amateur corner. Same again against Beterbiev.

[watsupdoc87]

Is this really happening? Berb could actually kill yarde in the ring. Apart from 1 good round against ageing kov he got sparked by a jab

[handsofstone]

I'm happy for Yarde to get another title shot in the sense that it brings a bit of excitement but how can the WBO justify him being mandatory twice? It's bizarre and just strange all round how Yarde's career has played out

[emallini]

Yarde by KO. Dream it Believe it Become it.

[maverick23]

Yarde by KO. Dream it Believe it Become it.

Thanks Tunde.

[THEBUTCH]

Someone's been at the "System 9"

[THEBUTCH]

Yarde has his moment in one round against Krusher (who was ready to be taken & a good job Yarde didn't box him a few years earlier).

Other than that he got well, well beaten and flattened.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yarde has his moment in one round against Krusher (who was ready to be taken & a good job Yarde didn't box him a few years earlier).

Other than that he got well, well beaten and flattened.

Also!!

Kovalev was fighting a flu at the time.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

The 175-pound showdown will be shown on BT Sport in the UK and on ESPN+ in the U.S.

London calls for the light-heavyweight king. WBC, WBO and IBF world champion Artur Beterbiev will defend his belts against big-punching British challenger Anthony Yarde at the OVO Arena Wembley on Saturday, January 28.

The WBO No.1 contender gets his shot at the Montreal-based Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs), boxing’s only world champion with a 100 percent knockout ratio. He will be fighting professionally in the United Kingdom for the first time, with the highly decorated former amateur having fought in London at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Promoted by allegedly and Queensberry, in association with Top Rank, this huge 175-pound showdown will be shown exclusively on BT Sport in the UK and streaming live and exclusive on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Tickets for Beterbiev vs Yarde at The O2 on Saturday 28 January 2023 go on general sale at 11am on Thursday 24 November from AXS.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.

"This will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge of Anthony's career to date, and we have made sure he will get the best conditions possible by securing him home advantage," said Yarde's promoter, allegedly of Queensberry. "It is going to be a huge occasion at the OVO Arena Wembley, which is the same venue where Anthony made his professional debut in May 2015.

“Of course, we know a great champion like Beterbiev has no fears of travelling and virtually all of his biggest wins have come outside his now home nation of Canada. Boxing is all about timing, and we are hoping the time is right for Anthony to fulfil his huge potential and pull off what would be one of the biggest wins by a British fighter.

"This is going to be a spectacular show staged in conjunction with our friends at Top Rank, and I am sure it is an event the public will get behind in massive numbers to support Anthony's attempt to achieve his dream."

“This is a matchup between two of the most devastating light heavyweight punchers, and I look forward to the great Artur Beterbiev showcasing his prodigious talent for the incredible UK fans,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Anthony Yarde was ringside for Artur’s last fight, and he certainly does not lack confidence. He is a dangerous fighter, and I know Artur will be switched on for one of the toughest bouts of his illustrious career.”

Beterbiev won his first world title in November 2017 with a 12th-round stoppage of Enrico Koelling and defended his IBF belt on two further occasions - including against Britain's Callum Johnson - before entering into a unification match against WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in October 2019. Ukrainian puncher Gvozdyk, who was unbeaten at the time, was stopped in the 10th round.

Beterbiev defended his titles against Adam Deines and Marcus Browne ahead of a three-belt unification against WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. in June at Hulu Theater Madison Square Garden, where the American was stopped in two rounds. In the amateur ranks, Beterbiev won silver at the 2007 World Championships before striking gold at the 2009 event. He also won gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 European Championships.

“I never back down from a challenge, and Anthony Yarde is a top contender who asked for this fight. I look forward to fighting in London for the first time since the Olympics,” Beterbiev said. “Yarde called me ‘slow’ after my fight with Joe Smith Jr., but slow and steady wins the race. And on January 28, I will win in London.”

The Wembley event represents a second world title attempt from Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) who previously travelled to Chelyabinsk, Russia, to take on the long-standing champion Sergey Kovalev, ultimately being stopped in the 11th round after coming close to forcing a finish himself in the eighth round. Yarde's first title came in fight No. 11 when he knocked out Chris Hobbs in four rounds for the Southern Area belt.

Yarde then fought seven consecutive fights with either the WBO European or Intercontinental belts at stake, or both, as Yarde knocked out each of those foes in seven rounds or less.

Post-Kovalev, Yarde continued with fights during the pandemic against Dec Spelman and a domestic dust-up against Lyndon Arthur. Yarde dropped a split decision against his Manchester rival, and after a swift comeback fight in Birmingham, Yarde sought redemption against Arthur. The vintage Yarde returned, and he knocked out Arthur in four rounds to once again earn the WBO No. 1 spot.

“January 28 will be my night,” said Yarde. “My destiny playing out in my home city, and this is what I have been longing for throughout my professional career, which started at Wembley. I won't make any big predictions for this fight against a strong unified champion in Artur Beterbiev, but what I will say is that I will leave nothing to chance, and I am at my best when I fight fire with fire.”

[THEBUTCH]

Ruthless-RKO, BT Sports have put up Yarde's fight last night on YouTube. You're a lot more adept than me at uploading them


Very good performance from Yarde. Obviously the opponent was a million miles from Beterbiev and has done zilch to change my view on Yarde's chances.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[THEBUTCH]

Cheers mate

[keithmoonhangover]

Yarde has power, but Butler has experience.

.both are buggered anyway

We definitely agree on that.

[THEBUTCH]

[MightyWarrior]

Great fight I’m looking forward to it. And there’s no way he’s as big an outsider as butler: he’s on home turf hits hard and don’t forget the fairly basic Johnson dropped Berb, and he’s not the only one.
Of course the bad ass champion is a big favourite, but what’s not to like? yarde has big balls, going to Russia to take on the fearsome Kov showed guts and while out of his depth he still gave it a great shot, he was a few punches from winning in that round…he will be looking to land bombs and it’ll be fireworks from early on.

Typically when a Brit who has a remote chance is facing one of the great champs, I’ll look for the positives, on the outside chance we could have a huge upset ..that way I’m really gonna look forward to this one in darkest Jan.
But I’ll maybe not be putting any money on it

[Lightsoot]

I don’t get some of the hate on Yarde. He’s a Brit going up against the best in the world and (outwardly at least) fancies the job. We don’t want shrinking violets like Bentley was last weekend - at least Yarde will have a go even if he goes out on his shield.

He gave an excellent account of himself against Kovalev, and came back better to take care of Lyndon Arthur emphatically after the first debacle. I’m not saying he deserves his shot, but the lad is exciting and he’ll give it everything. Good to see BT backing this too and not shoving this on box office.

Looking forward to it and good to see a big fight in the UK in January.

[THEBUTCH]

Even with the various caveats I'm seeing in posts about Yarde's chances, IMO Beterbiev is being underrated.

Kovalev was on his last legs by the time Yarde got his undeserved opportunity. The legend of Krusher had been cracked already and ultimately one can't forget a thoroughly beaten Yarde rendered defenceless.

Fast forward to present day and Beterbiev is no Kovalev. He's better.

The problem Yarde will struggle with is landing enough hard punches to get himself in the fight....this is often the case when sub-world class boxers jump in with genuine world champions.

Yes, Callum Johnson landed a bingo punch on Beterbiev, then proceeded to pay a heavy price and was quickly dismissed.

[Manchester Hitman]

The same guys who were saying Bentley had no chance of doing anything against Janibek are out in force again..

Beterbiev is a beast, but unlike Kovalev he will be coming to London and Yarde won’t have to go over and fight in a Russian backwater.

They also have similar dimensions, meaning Yarde will not have to start by trying to get past the jab like he did against Kovalev.

This will be a close quarters war and Beterbiev on his 38 year old legs will have to come through Yarde’s fire power. Anthony is not bringing a water gun to this shindig.

Yes, Beterbiev starts favourite and can clean him out, but this is no easy fight. Yarde has got a good chin- he took multiple power shots from Kovalev and mainly didn’t budge.

He was KO’d at the end out of exhaustion - people love to go on about him going out to a jab, but anything would have put him over at that point. He was inexperienced, plus they got the tactics wrong.