Artur Beterbiev Has Mandatory And Undisputed Bouts On His 2023 Agenda

By Boxing News - 12/24/2022 - Comments

By Vince Dwriter: In the sport of boxing, the road to achieving the ultimate goal was to become a prospect, elevate to the contender level, and then reach the pinnacle of success by winning a world title, but recently the new trend for the elite has transitioned from winning world titles in multiple divisions to becoming the undisputed champion of a division.

The WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev may be one step away from reaching his goal of becoming undisputed, but first, he has to confront the number one ranked WBO contender Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) on January 28 at the OVO Arena Wembley.

A product of Khasavyurt, Dagestan, Russia, unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev currently resides in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As an amateur, he represented Russia in the 2008 Olympics, and at the 2011 AIBA World Championships, Beterbiev faced Oleksandr Usyk and scored a knockdown, but unfortunately, he was out-pointed and lost by decision.

Beterbiev became a two-time Olympian as he represented his country once again in 2012. A year later, he turned pro and made an impressive debut by scoring a second round TKO victory against Christian Cruz. He would go on to win multiple world titles and collect all of his victories by way of knockout.

The last time Beterbiev competed inside the squared circle was back in June 2022, when he dominated the then-WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. Prior to the bout, Smith never experienced being knocked down in a fight, but Beterbiev scored a knockdown against Smith in the opening round.

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In the second round of the light heavyweight unification bout, Beterbiev used the same sweeping overhand right to knock Smith down for a second time. Beterbiev continued the demolition job as Smith would go down two more times, and after the fourth trip to the canvas, the referee stepped in and put a halt to the contest.

After beating Joe Smith Jr and collecting the WBO title, Artur Beterbiev is currently one belt short of achieving his goal. Fight fans have been anxiously awaiting a bout between Beterbiev and WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, but there is one man who plans on preventing an undisputed clash between the two current belt holders.

Anthony Yarde is a hard-hitting contender who has a current knockout ratio of 96 percent. His immediate goal is to step inside the squared circle on January 28 and win the unified light heavyweight title.

Yarde’s most recent appearance inside the ring took place in November 2022, when he used a vicious uppercut to knock out Stefani Koykov in the third round. Now Yarde is in a position to play the role of a thief if he can score the upset on January 28 and go on to steal Beterbiev’s dream by challenging Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed crown.

The light heavyweight unification title match between the champion Artur Beterbiev and the challenger Anthony Yarde will be a puncher vs. puncher type of bout. It will be a fight that is action-packed and certainly guaranteed not to go the distance.

Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) achieved his initial pro dream in 2017 by winning his first world title, and now he’s one step away from fighting for his ultimate dream of becoming undisputed. Before he can think about battling for undisputed, Beterbiev has to focus his attention on his upcoming opponent, and at the first press conference for the bout, Beterbiev gave Yarde the verbal warning to “be ready.”