By Matt Lieberman: Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) says his fight with Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) will “definitely” end inside the distance on Saturday night when he challenges the unbeaten champion for his IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight titles at the OVO Arena in London, England.
Yarde reveals that he’s covered all possible plans from A to Z, making sure that whatever the more experienced Beterbiev does inside the ring, he’ll be ready for on the night.
There’s no mystery about what Beterbiev will be seeking to do against Yarde because he’s a pure brawler who looks to crush his opponents with his powerful shots from the word go.
What this fight is about is Yarde needing to bet on himself and hoping he can defeat Beterbiev at his own game by out-slugging the slugger.
Yarde, the heavy underdog
“I’m fully focused and zoned in. All that other stuff from the past doesn’t really matter. Yeah, it plays a part in your experience and your building blocks, but this is the fight I’m focused on,” said Anthony Yarde to talkSPORT Boxing about how he feels ahead of his fight with Artur Beterbiev, the IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion, this Saturday at Wembley.
“It’s a memory now, going out to Chelyabinsk, [Russia],” Yarde said about his fight with former WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in 2019. “You can just imagine it. It’s a completely different fighter in Kovalev than Beterbiev. It’s a completely different moment. I’ve grown in experience.
“That was four years ago. This fight is all I’m focused on. I’m excited about this fight. I don’t really see it as an advantage. Everyone has their own opinions on it,” said Yarde about him fighting at home in London against Beterbiev. “I’m happy that it’ll be in England and in London because I feel it’ll be a better crowd.
“It’ll be a better atmosphere and a better promotion. Yeah, I’m happy. That’s the beauty of it. The unknown. If you go by our records from amateurs until now, I’m the heavy underdog, but I love it. I feel like that’s what makes me different. It’s my mindset,” said Yarde.
“I said from the beginning, people say to me, ‘What makes you different from other fighters?’ I say it’s my mindset and my mentality. It plays a massive part in who I am as a person and my performances in the ring.
“A to Z, you’ve got to cover all letters of the alphabet, A, B, C, D, all the way to Z,” said Yarde about needing to be flexible enough to adapt to the changing tactics on Saturday night against Beterbiev.
“That’s what it’s about, preparation, and that’s why I keep saying all that matters is on the night. I feel like I’ve always been the same. This is the stage that everybody wants to be at.
Beterbiev vs. Yarde = will end inside the distance
“I’m fighting for three world titles, a unification bout, WBC, IBF & WBO; this is massive. In my opinion, this is as big as it gets in any weight division to fight for a unification or undisputed. That’s two of the biggest issues you can get, so I’m excited.
“My weights good. Training camp has been fantastic. Everything has been fantastic. There are so many people that have different opinions about different methods and things like that. It’s working, that’s what I’m going to say, and on Saturday, it’s going to be beautiful.
“If you’re lucky enough or smart enough to be in attendance, then congratulations and well done. If you’re watching on TV, it’s a celebration. It’s amazing, but nothing is on my mind right now.
“People can go too far ahead and get excited. I say it’s about controlling your emotions. You can get overly excited; you can be overly nervous. All of these things matter. You need to be excited, you need to be nervous, but it needs to be controlled.
“So, I don’t want to be focused on all of the amazing things that can happen afterward. I just focus on the moment. It’s definitely going to finish inside the distance,” said Yarde about his prediction for the Beterbiev fight.
“Tune in on Saturday. That’s the only and the best way to see how it pans out,” said Yarde.
