By Daniele D’Alessio – After his destructive performance against Lyndon Arthur (19-1, 13 KOs), Anthony “The Beast” Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) believes there is no light-heavyweight in the world who can take his power.
Yarde managed to avenge his loss against Arthur last night in a fourth-round stoppage victory where he dominated the contest from start to finish.
Going into the rematch, some boxing experts were tipping Arthur to be victorious again, however, Yarde silenced all his doubters by winning conclusively.
Now Yarde will face the winner of Joe Smith Jr (27-3, 21 KOs) and Callum Johnson (20-1, 14 KOs) for a second shot at the WBO Light Heavyweight Title. The man from Hackney came up short against Sergey Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) two years ago by getting stopped in the 11th round.
As last night’s performance suggests, Yarde’s power is very real and when he fights aggressively, he can cause a lot of damage to his opponent. In the first fight against Arthur, Yarde didn’t throw enough punches which is ultimately why he lost via split decision.
Despite that minor setback, Yarde seems to have learned a huge amount from that experience and has emerged as an improved fighter. Not to mention, Yarde had many family grievances in 2020 which may also have negatively affected his performance.
Whether it’s Smith Jr or Johnson, Yarde will have a phenomenal chance to become a world champion. The Beast hits harder than both of them and might be slightly fresher due to taking less punishment throughout his career.
Time will tell whether Yarde’s power can catapult him to become a world champion and a force in the light-heavyweight division.
The addition of boxing legend James Cook to his training team could provide the extra support he needs to get to an elite level.
Still, with two losses on his record Yarde has shown vulnerabilities and his future depends on how well-rounded he can become as a fighter.
Will Yarde become a world champion? Or are there other crucial improvements he needs to make to reach his potential?
Regardless, Yarde is incredibly exciting to watch and it will be interesting to see how the rest of his career unfolds.
