By Tim Royner: Promoter Frank Warren reportedly expects the World Boxing Organization to soon order a fight between WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev and Anthony Yarde (17-0, 16 KOs. Once that happens, Warren wants to to have the Kovalev-Yarde fight take place in the UK.
In the meantime, Yarde (17-0, 16 KOs) will be putting his unbeaten record on the line against high level journeyman Travis Reeves (17-3-2, 7 KO) in a 10 round fight next month on March 8 at the Royal Albert Hall, in Kensington, UK. This isn’t a great fight, but it’s a stay busy match for the 27-year-old Yarde in fighting an opponent that isn’t a threat to beating him. Reeves is a 38-year-old American, and he was recently knocked out in the 12th round by Karo Murat last year in March.
Reeves best wins in his six-year pro career have come against Lanell Bellows and Anthony Caputo Smith. The rest of the fighters that Reeves has fought have been the poor variety. Yarde should have already gotten past this level of opposition years ago. For Yarde to still be fighting the likes of Reeves, it’s troubling to say the least. If this the last fight for Yarde before challenging Kovalev (33-3-1, 28 KOs) for his WBO 175 lb title this year, it could be a real shock to Anthony’s system to all of a sudden be facing a guy that is light years better than the fodder he’d been facing his entire career.
Yarde will have his World Boxing Organisation Inter-Continental light heavyweight title on the line when he faces Reeves next month.
Kovalev, 35, looked sensational this month in beating Eleider Alvarez by a 12 round unanimous decision in their rematch. It was a much different look from Kovalev than the one we’ve seen from him in the past in which he could come out looking to KO his opponents. The Kovalev we saw against Alvarez was more of a calculated pure boxer, staying on the outside, using his jab and being smart. If Kovalev fights like that against Yarde, he’s going to make it really tough on him. Yarde has a better chance of winning if Kovalev tries to knock him out. If Kovalev fights like that, there’s a chance that he could gas out and get stopped by Yarde.
If Yarde doesn’t take the fight with Kovalev sooner or later, he’s going to lose his #1 ranking once the WBO orders the fight. Yarde needs to take the fight with Kovalev, and try his best. Even if Yarde gets wiped out, it won’t be the end of the world. He can always start over again and quickly get pushed up the rankings.