Anthony Yarde will prove his elite status by defeating Artur Beterbiev, says Gareth A. Davies
Via Craig Daly: Gareth A. Davies believes Anthony Yarde has a chance to prove himself as one of the “Upstream” boxer in the sport if he can beat IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on January 28 at the OVO Arena in London, England.
Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) will need to raise his game to a level we haven’t seen in him before to equalize against the undefeated Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs).
Many believe Yarde has bitten more than he can chew when facing the destructive puncher Beterbiev and will once again find himself knocked down.
In 2019, Yarde went up to a world-class boxer, Sergey Kovalev, who knocked him down with a stab in the 11th round. Beterbiev is a fighter similar to Kovalev, but fights at a level. higher altitude than that stage of the career and more damage in the game.
Davies feels that having the match in the UK gives Yarde a huge advantage over 37-year-old Beterbiev, who was born and raised in Russia and now lives in Montreal, Canada. However, Betterbiev is a two-time Olympic athlete and has traveled the world during his amateur career.
Fighting in front of a hostile crowd in London probably wouldn’t embarrass Beterbiev, and if he did, it could motivate him even more to score Yarde’s take-down.
Yarde, 31, earned a mandatory spot in the 175 lb WBO after beating Lyndon Arthur by knockout in the fourth round two years ago in their rematch in December 2021.
Yarde has fought once since, beating little-known Stefani Koykov by knockout in the third round last November after taking an eleven-month break for that bout.
“Having Beterbiev here gives Anthony Yarde a huge advantage,” Gareth A. Davies said to Queensbury Promotion about the January 28 fight between IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde in London, England.
“He [Yarde] had an uphill fight against Sergey Kovalev a few years ago. I think he should have won it for the night. I think he held back too much during the night.
“He has come. He lost to Lyndon Arthur and beat Lyndon Arthur,” Davies continued about Yarde. “He has learned to come back from his losses. I think he’s more confident with the style he has,” Davies said.
Yarde fought as hard as he could against Kovalev in 2019, and the only reason he backed down early was because of the huge hits he took. If Yarde had chased Kovalev early, he’d most likely have been knocked out from being hit too hard.
“On the surface he’s a powerful man, isn’t he? Davies speaks of Yarde as a beautiful chin and an amazing figure. “I don’t think he’s going to fade in the fight. I don’t think Anthony will thank me for this, but I see Betterbiev [winning]. I’m choosing Betterbiev. I want Anthony to win.”
The obvious choice was to go with Beterbiev as Yarde had never beaten anyone near the level of this great boxer. 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 were the best fighters at rank 175, and Yarde had yet to face any of them.
If he had, he probably wouldn’t be fighting for a world title. Instead of, replace, he will pick up the pieces of his broken career.
“I really want him to win. He is an extraordinary person and character, and has a great background,” continued Davies of Yarde. “I loved his back story and how he avoided joining any gang while growing up in the area where he grew up, North East London. He’s a great character, and he’s a great role model in British boxing.
“I think it’s difficult for him [Yarde] in this war unless he can get to Beterbiev. Yes, we saw him [Beterbiev] take out Callum Johnson. He has to get past him in the first third of the fight and maintain that.
Davies said of Yarde: “I don’t know if he’ll get the points. “In my view, if Beterbiev gets the point in a grueling duel.
“I think Anthony needs to stop in this fight, but he needs to show his best form, and definitely put on a lot of pressure, not losing sight of the fact that Beterbiev is 38 years old. [correction: Beterbiev is 37] continue 39, and put him under real pressure.
“Will that make him exhausted [Yarde] in the war, I don’t know. Beterbiev is a typical Eastern European boxer. When I spoke to Anthony over the weekend, he was actually talking to Betterbiev, saying his skills were very good.
“However, I think he is a pretty simple fighter. I think Anthony has to stop him for seven, eight or nine rounds and get him to fight him because I think he’ll get tired after the fight, and I think it’s going to be the longer Beterbiev’s fight. , and I think Betterbiev by late stop or point.
“I like Anthony. Huge,” said Gareth when asked how big the win would be if Yarde beat Beterbiev on January 28. “I think Beterbiev is one of the great champions right now. Is that 18 wins and 18 knockouts? Brilliant amateur pedigree.
“He really doesn’t have followers,” Gareth said of Betterbiev. “Like Dmitry Bivol, another light heavyweight belt holder. That is a huge achievement. If it’s a great fight for 12 rounds, I think it makes sense for them to fight back if possible.
“Perhaps he will want to achieve the undisputed title. Maybe he’ll want to fight Joshua Buatsi. There are all kinds of opportunities for Anthony, and he’s up against one of the two best champions in the world. For me, both in the top six pound-for-pound category were the two Russians, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, lightweight competitors.
“So all of our light heavyweights, and you’ve got six or seven very good guys, cut the work for them. I think Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi have a chance this year to prove that they’re not just world class but elite class if they go up against Bivol and Beterbiev.
“This is an elite level match for Anthony Yarde on January 28 at Wembley. If he wins it, he has proven himself to be an elite,Davies said.
