Via Sean Jones: Tony Bellew has great respect for Artur Beterbiev and considers him the “Mount Everest of the light weight” “the one who takes your soul” as he fights you.
Beterbiev’s next knockout victim could be Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs) when the two meet tonight on ESPN+ in the US & BT Sport in the UK from the OVO Arena in London, Older brother.
This match is the equivalent of two rams coming together with what will result in an explosion, with one of them knocked down. It wouldn’t be surprising if Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) was stopped tonight as Yarde put on a superb fight performing in front of his home audience in London.
Betterbiev = Mount Everest at 175
“This is the Mount Everest of the light weight class. This guy really is a monster,” Tony Bellew told DAZN . boxing program about Artur Betterbiev.
“I will say this. He’s definitely vulnerable, and he can get hurt. I’m just not sure about Anthony Yarde’s tactical perception in this fight. I’m not sure about his game plan. If his game plan was some kind of madness to let Artur Beterbiev punch himself, that’s insane. You have to match him.
“If anything, you have the hand speed advantage,” Bellew said of the Yarde. “But obviously, Betterbiev is the more destructive of them all. Try to time him in. Every time he steps closer to you, you should nail him hard and rush out at an angle.
“Anthony Yarde is good at hitting and fast, but that is literally Mount Everest. Really, really because this Artur Betterbiev is a problem, he really is. He won’t go anywhere. He will go out with his shield.
“Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s only a matter of time before someone flattens him out because he’s there. People think it’s outrageous that I think Canelo beat him. I still think he will beat him.
Ade Oladipo said: “As soon as this fight was mentioned, I thought, ‘Artur Beterbiev will take him down’. “If you look at the record, 18 games, 18 wins, 18 KOs, and I’m thinking, ‘He’s going to put him to sleep.’ As it started to come closer, I was thinking; something could be happening here.
“I don’t know why and a lot of people think this way. You look at Betterbiev, and you’re right; he is tagged. He gives you a chance. He was beaten by Gvozdyk. He was hit by Marcus Browne, and Callum Johnson took him down, but he seemed able to get through that,” Ade said.
Artur takes the soul
“Someone asked me, ‘What do you mean?’ He out-mans you. He will make you question yourself, fight on his hind legs, and then he will brutally knock you down,” Ade said. “Joe Smith hasn’t fought since taking him down. Gvozdyk is retired. Marcus Browne didn’t fight.
“He seems to know how to destroy you, and I am with you. I feel like, for Anthony Yarde; There’s no point in trying to box with the back foot. You can also go and shoot him directly and see what happens,” Ade said.
“He takes souls, man. He literally took your soul because he broke you,” Bellew said of the undefeated Beterbiev. “That’s the problem with boxing. When you can hit a guy repeatedly, you’ve got hope. Once that hope is built, then he breaks you, and that’s what he does with boxers.
“It’s okay when you can’t hit a boxer. It’s frustrating, and it breaks your spirit. But once you repeatedly hit someone, you get a reaction from them, and then all of a sudden, then he turns your lights off. It destroys the soul.
“Trust me; I have experienced it. His name is Adonis Stevenson. This guy is a bit of a monster, but he also has a very good coach in Marc Ramsey, I have to say. This is someone who knows the game and has been around for a long time.
“It will be interesting to see what he does because in the match against Joe Smith he was clinical,” Bellew said of Beterbiev.
Who is Betterbiev’s biggest threat?
“The game this weekend is in London. It’s good that boxers from all over the world come to London because obviously the atmosphere and you get paid well,” Ade said. “I wanted to ask you about light heavyweight in the UK. There are three names at the top of the list.
“Buatsi, Yarde and Callum Smith. Who do you think has the best chance of the three against Betterbiev?” Ade said.
“Callum Smith has the most experience. Maybe not an amateur pedigree, but he fought a lot [as a pro]; he was involved in big, big fights. He won the Super Six tournament, and he has the best pedigree in his record of beating George Groves.
“So I will give Callum the best option, but I think Buatsi is a problem and a half. I think he’s an old head on young shoulders. The way he fights and his bond with Vergil Hunter is huge.
“That will help him a lot when it comes to the bigger fights because Vergil is a great coach; he really is. Callum also has a really good coach, Buddy McGirt. I thought Joe McNally would be perfect, but they make these decisions based on the advice they receive.
“Yes, Callum is probably the best chance to see it now, but trust me Joshua Buatsi is a man to watch, he really is, and like I said, his style has always been. develop. His defensive skill set is really, really good and it has improved a lot under Vergil Hunter. So he’s a man to watch, and Anthony Yarde really has his chance, doesn’t he?” Bellew said.
Ade said: “There are a lot of undisputed potential battles in 2023. Fury-Usyk, Jermell Charlo looks like they will be back and potentially fighting Tim Tszyu.
“We want to see Betterbiev-Bivol; that’s what we want to see because there are good debates about who is the #1 lightweight in the world. Do you think we’re going to fight it, and if we do, who do you think will win? Ade said.
“Bivol,” Bellew said. “Bivol beat Betterbiev. I committed a cardinal sin by not judging him [Bivol] as tall as I should be because he didn’t show me what he was capable of. That’s not me. It’s about him, to be completely honest.
“When you go into melee fights with the likes of Craig Richards and lackluster matches in Monte Carlo, it’s up to him. I can only rate it on what you show me. That’s all I can do.
“But when you go in there and do what you did with Canelo and then the fight with Ramirez. He was wonderful. I rated him massively. His footsteps are special. He moves like a heavyweight; he really does. His footsteps are special.
“People underestimate his footwork, and it’s very good. That’s why Canelo couldn’t capture his in and out movements. He has a great set of straight stab and shoot skills. He’s a strong, strong boy and a really, really good fighter.
“So I just thought he was going to move and move around Artur Beterbeiv and beat him on points,” said Bellew.
Ade said: “I strongly disagree on this because I want to see Yarde do well. “I want to see him do well and win, but I also want to see Bivol-Beterbiev again later this year. So good luck to Anthony Yarde.
“It will be very difficult; it will be big. It should have been a world title, but again, the selfish part of me wanted to meet Bivol-Beterbiev.”
