Yarde defeats Arthur in four
'The Beast from the East' Anthony Yarde (22-2, 21KOs) has got his revenge after a brutal fourth-round victory over undefeated Lyndon Arthur (19-1, 13KOs) at the Copper Box on December 4.
The pair fought in the capital last December, exactly one year ago, with Arthur jabbing his way to win the WBO inter-continental light-heavyweight title on a split-decision.
But Yarde was a different animal this time around and flew out of the blocks, dominating the fight from the get-go until knocking his man down in the fourth.
Yarde flew into action with a whipped left hook aimed at Arthur’s head and then a right into his ribs. He started how he left off in their last round of their first fight, unloading with urgency.
And before the exciting opener ended Yarde appeared to buzz his opponent with a three-punch combination that seemed to stun Arthur who was looking to jab and hold early on. 'King Arthur's' team had expected this kind of start from Arthur, but he was overwhelmed still. Yarde's ferocious start nullified Arthur's jab, which is his best weapon. He wasn't able to throw it as freely as the first time around. Big right hands from Yarde as the pair end the opener grappling.
In the second Yarde was feinting to get in close, then landed another heavy left hook and Arthur grabbed him and held while he recovered.
There was plenty of grappling and holding as the high-stakes fight threatened to turn into a wrestling match. Referee Bob Williams allowed the scrappy manhandling, even pushing Arthur's hands away when trying to hold, but he struggled to get in between the two rutting stags.
Arthur scored with a couple of straight shots outside of the clinch but nothing that hurt his nemesis. It was a scrappy second stanza, very different to the prior round. Arthur tried to land a couple of uppercuts in the final moments of the segment.
Early in the third Yarde landed another thudding left hook that wobbled Arthur but he jabbed his way back into contention. Yarde's speed was greater than the snappy Lyndon's, who was missing quite a bit.
There was a heavy right from Arthur with a minute to go but Yarde answered with a good one-two back. Right on the bell there was a brilliant exchange as both brave men traded powerful shots with Yarde definitely getting the best of the action. First, he landed plenty of straight shots down the pipe, then varied it to let and right hooks. Arthur fired back, then smiled as the bell rang to mark the end of a thrilling round.
In the fourth, Yarde contiuned to fight at mid to short range, where he was enjoying the best success. Arthur landed a good shot, Yarde shook his head, then sprung into life trapping his foe on the ropes unleashing unrelenting body shots and uppercuts. Arthur looked to be weathering the sustained pressure until a good body shot visibly shook him, then a chopping right hook to the temple floored Arthur for the first time in the 16 rounds they've shared together. Arthur almost fell out of the ring, he beat the count but showed no signs of wishing to continue as referee Bob Williams waved the fight off. On replay, there was a flush uppercut that looked to the damage before the finising move from Yarde.
It was a devastating performance from Yarde to notch up his 21st knockout from 22 wins. He won the Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental titles from Arthur, but more importantly, he takes his WBO No.1 position to be able to challenge the winner of Joe Smith Jr. vs Callum Johnson, who meet in January.
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