By Mark Eisner: IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) wore down and stopped WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde (23-3, 22 KOs) in the eighth round on Saturday night in a competitive fight at the OVO Arena in London, England.
Beterbiev dropped Yarde in the eighth after nailing him with two big right hands to the head.
After Yarde got up and seemed disoriented, turning to his corner rather than facing the referee Steve Gray. When the reaction resumed, Beterbiev landed a couple of more shots, and the fight was stopped due to Yarde’s corner choosing to halt the contest.
Boxing News 24 will be giving live results of the event, which starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ in the U.S., and on BT Sport in the UK, with a starting time of 7:00 p.m. ET.
Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) will be looking for another knockout to keep his streak alive and build interest in his undisputed match against the popular WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol for late this year or early 2024.
- Making his pro debut, heavyweight Moses Itauma (1-0, 1 KOs) stopped a badly overmatched Marcel Bode (2-2, 2 KOs) in the first round. The 18-year-old Itauma landed two headshots, resulting in Bode hitting the deck. The contest was halted officially by referee Mark Bates at 0:23 of the first round. Both left hands from the southpaw Itauma hit the gloves of Bode, yet he still went down. It was a case of Itauma’s shots hitting the gloves, which banged into his face, hurting him. Bode needed oxygen after the fight was over and looked hurt from the two heavy shots that hit him. Earlier in the card, Moses Itauma’s brother Karol Itauma was knocked out in a big upset by Ezequiel Osvado Maderna. You’ve got to wonder whether seeing his brother beaten motivated Moses to come out of the starting blocks fast to get Bode out of there as possible to make a statement.
- The lanky 6’7 cruiserweight prospect Tommy Fletcher (4-0, 3 KOs) stayed unbeaten with an unimpressive six round unanimous decision against journeyman Darryl Sharp (7-97-1, 1 KO). The score was 60-54. Sharp, 31, spent most of the fight moving around the ring, throwing occasional pot shots, and taunting the 21-year-old Fletcher. In the sixth round, Sharp landed a looping left hand to the head of Fletcher that got his attention. All in all, it wasn’t a good performance from Fletcher, as he should have been able to stop this guy.
- In a surprising outcome, light heavyweight veteran Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna (29-10, 18 KOs) stopped the highly touted prospect Karol Itauma (9-1, 7 KOs) in the fifth round to capture the vacant WBC International belt on Saturday night in London’s OVO Arena. Maderna dropped the previously unbeaten Itauma in the fifth to get the stoppage. The referee halted the contest at 1:04. In hindsight, the management for Itauma shouldn’t put him in with the 15-year pro Maderna, who has mixed it with Artur Beterbiev, among many others during his long career.
- WBA World flyweight champion Artem Dalakian (22-0, 15 KOs) retained his title with a questionable 12 round unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten #1 ranked David Jimenez (12-1, 9 KOs). The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 115-113. Boxing News 24 scored it for Jimenez 8-4, as he was the one putting the pressure on the entire 12 round contest. The 35-year-old Dalakaian was on his bike the entire time, fighting like he was there to survive rather than win.
Preview: Will home advantage help Anthony Yarde?
“I think the home advantage for Anthony Yarde will be huge. That Kovalev fight that you were talking about has given him that experience that he needs at the world level,” said Spencer Oliver to talkSPORT Boxing.
“Stylistically, Beterbiev is all right for Anthony Yarde. He’s a great counterpunch. Beterbiev comes forward. We know he’s phenomenally strong; we know he’s got a massive knockout ratio with 18 fights and 18 KOs, but he’s there to be hit.
“Anthony Yarde is one of the heaviest-handed light heavyweights out there. So this is all to play. Beterbiev goes in as a massive favorite, but you can’t write Yarde off for this one. He fancies it; he’s up for it. He’s done his apprenticeship.
“This could go down as one of the all-time upsets in British boxing history,” said Oliver, talking about the potential victory for Yarde.
“If he comes through this, it’s number four or five, there’s no doubt about it, and when he fought Kovalev, he should have won that fight,” said Warren about Yarde’s clash against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev four years ago in 2019 in Russia.
Starting fast is important
“It was in the eighth round when he jumped on him. He had him all over the place. When I made this fight, I fancied him early because he’s there to be taken.
“You’ve got to start off with a fast pace and really put it on him, but he waited too long. That’s down to experience, and he’s learned from that, and I think he’s come back and shown what he’s got. One thing about him, he’s got tremendous self-belief, and he’s super fit; he’s really a fit guy,” Warren said of Yarde.
“They guys know what they’re going into. Tunde knows what he’s going into. They know the task they have ahead of them,” said Oliver about Yarde’s trainer. “I keep referring back to this Kovalev fight because it was inexperience from the corner, from the boxer himself.
“Speaking to Anthony a few weeks ago, he said, ‘In the eighth round, I knew I had him hurt, and I rolled the dice and threw everything in. He’s now gained that experience. He won’t make those same mistakes.
“Sometimes in a fight when you’ve got a fighter going, you think, ‘This is now or never.’ Kovalev was a massive favorite in that one as well, and he was in desperate trouble.
“So, I think Yarde did the right thing, but he will have learned from that, and it puts him in a great position going into this fight. Guys, this is a sensational fight stylistically. Both guys are so heavy-handed. I’m with you guys. I don’t see this going past six,” said Oliver.
“I was going to say that what’s going to happen if you look at their knockout ratio? Anthony has had 25 fights, and only one of them didn’t go on the floor,” said Warren. “So, he’s a massive puncher, and the other guy [Beterbiev] is a massive puncher.
Serious fireworks expected
“What you’re going to get are some serious fireworks because they will let their bombs go; they will let them go,” said Warren.
“I was just going to say that we just came back from Manchester, where the atmosphere was absolutely jumping,” said Simon Jordan. “Are you expecting the same kind of atmosphere because Anthony is coming into an atmosphere with great support where he’s the home fighter in London will make a difference? What kind of atmosphere can we expect?
“I’m expecting the same atmosphere of what we got in Manchester where everyone coming to this fight knows Anthony is like the massive underdog,” said Oliver. “That sort of gives the crowd a bit more of an edge. They’ll be wanting to spur Anthony on.
They’ll know that the crowd will play a massive part in this, and it really does. Speaking as an ex-fighter, that home advantage is crucial, and he’s going to need all the noise he can get there on Saturday night,” said Oliver.
Artur Beterbiev will have a real fight on his hands tonight when he returns to action, defending his IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight titles against Anthony Yarde in London, England.