Anthony Yarde will prove his elite status by beating Artur Beterbiev says Gareth A. Davies

By Boxing News - 01/11/2023 - Comments

By Craig Daly: Gareth A. Davies believes that Anthony Yarde has the chance to prove himself as one of the “elite” fighters in the sport if he can upset IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on January 28th at the OVO Arena in London, England.

Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) will need to raise his game to a level that we’ve not seen from him before to pull off the upset of the unbeaten Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs).

It’s widely believed that Yarde has bitten off more than he can chew going up against the devasting puncher Beterbiev and will once again find himself getting knocked out.

In 2019, Yarde stepped it up against a world class fighter in, Sergey Kovalev, who knocked him out with a jab in the 11th round. Beterbiev is a similar puncher as Kovalev, but fighting at a higher level than he was at that stage of his career and more lethal inside game.

Davies feels that having the fight take place in the UK gives Yarde a huge advantage over the 37-year-old Beterbiev, who was born & raised in Russia and now lives in Montreal, Canada. However, Beterbiev is a two-time Olympian and has traveled all over the world during his amateur career.

Fighting in front of a hostile crowd in London probably won’t phase Beterbiev, and if anything, it might motivate him more to score a knockout of Yarde.

The 31-year-old Yarde earned his WBO 175-lb mandatory spot by defeating Lyndon Arthur by a fourth round knockout two years ago in their rematch in December 2021.

Yarde has fought once since then, beating little-known Stefani Koykov by a third round knockout last November after coming off an eleven-month layoff for that fight.

Getting Beterbiev over here gives Anthony Yarde huge advantages,” said Gareth A. Davies to Queensbury Promotions about the January 28th battle between IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde in London, England.

“He [Yarde] was in a tough fight against Sergey Kovalev a few years ago. I think he should have won it on the night. I think he held too much back on the night.

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“He’s come on. He’s lost to Lyndon Arthur and won back against Lyndon Arthur,” Davies continued about Yarde. “He’s learned to come back from losses. I think he’s more confident in the style that he has,” said Davies.

Yarde fought the best he could against Kovalev in 2019, and the only reason he held back early was because of the enormous shots he was getting hit with. If Yarde had gone after Kovalev early, he likely would have been knocked out because he was getting hit too much as it was.

“He’s ostensibly a power guy, isn’t he? A great chin and an incredible physique,” said Davies about Yarde. “I don’t think he’ll fade in the fight. I don’t think Anthony will thank me for this, but I do see Beterbiev [winning]. I am picking Beterbiev. I want Anthony to win.”

The obvious pick is to go with Beterbiev because Yarde has never beaten anyone near the level of this great fighter. Yarde’s best win on his resume is Lyndon Arthur, who is nowhere near the level of Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, Callum Smith, or Joshua Buatsi. Those are the best fighters at 175, and Yarde has faced none of them yet.

If he had, he probably wouldn’t be fighting for a world title. Instead, he would be picking up the broken pieces of his shattered career.

“I’d love him to win. He’s a phenomenal person and character and has an amazing background,” Davies continued about Yarde. “I love his backstory and how he eschewed being involved in any gangs in growing up in that kind of area that he grew up in, Northeast London. He’s a great character, and he’s a great example in British boxing.

“I think the tough thing for him [Yarde] in this fight unless he can get to Beterbiev. Yes, we saw him [Beterbiev] down against Callum Johnson. He’s got to get on him in the first third of the fight and sustain that.

“I don’t know if he wins on points,” said Davies about Yarde. “If Beterbiev wins on points in a grueling duel, in my view.

“I think Anthony needs a stoppage in this fight, but he needs to produce definitely his best performance, and definitely create a lot of pressure, not lose the fact that Beterbiev is 38 [correction: Beterbiev is 37] going on 39, and put him under real pressure.

“Whether that depletes him [Yarde] during the fight, I don’t know. Beterbiev is the typical Eastern European fighter. When I spoke to Anthony during the weekend, he was actually talking Beterbiev up, saying that his skills are very good.

“I think he’s quite a simple fighter, though. I think Anthony has got to stop him in seven, eight, or nine rounds and get him in a war with him because I think he will tire later in the fight, and I think it’ll become Beterbiev’s fight the longer it goes, and I think Beterbiev by late stoppage or points.

“I’d love Anthony. Huge,” said Gareth when asked how big of a win it would be if Yarde were to defeat Beterbiev on January 28th. “I think Beterbiev is one of the great champions out there right now. Was it 18 wins and 18 knockouts? Brilliant amateur pedigree.

“He just doesn’t have the following, really,” Gareth said of Beterbiev. “It’s the same as Dmitry Bivol, who holds the other light heavyweight belts. It’s a massive achievement. If it’s a fantastic fight over 12 rounds, I think it makes sense for them to fight again if they can.

“Maybe he’ll want to go for the undisputed title. Maybe he’ll want to fight Joshua Buatsi. There are all kinds of openings for Anthony, and he’s in with one of the two best champions in the world. Both of them belong in the top six pound-for-pound for me are the two Russians, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, the light heavyweights.

“So all of our light heavyweights, and you’ve got six or seven very good ones, have their work cut out for them. I think Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi have the opportunity this year to prove that they’re not just world class, but elite class if they get the Bivol and Beterbiev fights.

“This is an elite level fight for Anthony Yarde on the 28th of January at Wembley. If he wins it, he’s proven himself that he’s an elite,” said Davies.