On January 28, unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev stopped Anthony Yarde in the eighth round at OVO Arena in Wembley, England. By doing so, Beterbiev improves his professional record to 19-0 with 19 knockouts. Conversely, Yarde falls to 23-3 with two knockout losses.
Beterbiev may have achieved his desired result, but it was not an easy process. His opponent, Anthony Yarde, landed 31% of his total punches and 38% of his power punches. Furthermore, Yarde led Beterbiev on two of the three judges’ scorecards through seven rounds. However, Yarde was unable to keep the pressure on the champion and emerge victorious.
“I can’t say I did a bad fight but if I did it again, I would do better, but I feel good,” Beterbiev said after the fight.
Every boxer in this category can punch hard and Anthony did too; he is 31, he’s young, I turned pro 28, so he has time. I hope he does well in the future.”
Beterbiev has retained his titles and positioned himself for a fight with the only other world champion in the division, Dmitry Bivol. Both fighters have expressed an interest in fighting each other, but no deal has been put in place for the showdown to take place.
“I want Bivol,” he declared.
“Right now, it’s everything. In that fight, we’ll have four belts. It’s a really good fight, I think.”
