Via Allan Fox: Top Rated promoter Bob Arum said the O2 Arena in London was booked for late October for Artur Beterbiev to defend his IBF, WBC & WBO lightweight titles against Anthony Yarde.
Arum says he’s hoping for a Beterbiev vs. Yarde is finished next week for this match. There could be a method to the madness where Arum let Beterbiev fight with the next easy spot as Yarde rather than one of the talented contenders.
Yarde is not a threat to beat Beterbiev, so it will likely be a slam dunk win for the champion and it will impress many England fans in London.
Fans aren’t eager to see Beterbiev take on Yarde as they expect him to face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol for the next tournament’s undisputed 175 lb championship.
Bivol’s popularity is at an all-time high in the US following his decisive 12-round win over Canelo Alvarez last May.
Instead of attacking while the iron was hot to capitalize on the boxing public’s interest in Bivol, Arum opted for the weaker option, unifying light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) against the twice defeated Yarde, who wasn’t famous in America and wasn’t considered a great fighter.
Despite his lack of professional qualifications, Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) is the WBO’s mandatory challenger to Beterbiev’s newly won belt, which he claimed last month with a knockout win in the first round. two ahead of World Boxing Organization’s 175lb champion Joe Smith Jr. June 18 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Yarde’s claim to fame is being knocked out by a stab from former 175 lb WBO champion Sergey Kovalev in the hills in 2019. That bout introduced many boxing fans to Yarde; trust me; They are not impressed with what they see.
“No, we are talking to Beterbiev, and we have a date at the end of october in England against boxer Queensbury [Anthony] Yarde, who is the number one light heavyweight,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum Fighthype when asked if the 175-lb IBF/WBC/WBO champion Artur Beterbiev would face the winner in a match between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
“I think Frank Warren is hosting O2 in London, and Beterbiev is on vacation. His lawyer is on vacation, but next week we are scheduled to speak to him, and hopefully, we’ll end that war,Arum talks about the fight between Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde.
Arum wasn’t interested in a Beterbiev vs Bivol showdown even before his one-sided win over Canelo Alvarez. However, now that he has beaten him, he is choosing to take on Artur against Yarde, which is a horribly poor match by comparison.
