Artur Beterbiev vs Anthony Yarde – Who wins and why?
28 Days Later – Just four weeks into the New Year, fight fans are going to be treated to a fantastic fight with WBC, WBO and IBF world light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18KO) who will defend his belts against big-punching British challenger Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22KO) at the OVO Arena Wembley on Saturday, January 28.
BBN asked their panel of trusted experts who they think wins and why:
Frank Buglioni, World title contender
"This is a great and intriguing fight. Yarde is explosive, tough and cute on the inside. However I just think Beterbiev will be too strong and experienced for Yarde.
"If they go to war early then I think a stoppage inside four rounds for AB. But if Yarde can box smart and make him miss for a few rounds, whilst punishing the body, then it could be closer.
"Would love to see Yarde pull off the upset but unfortunately for him I still think AB has gas in the tank and will look to continue to establish himself as the main man at light heavy. Beterbiev inside six."
Mitch Mitchell, Anthony Yarde's debut opponent
"I'm excited about this fight as both fighters are outstanding, powerful competitors!
"I've been following Yarde ever since I met him in the ring in his pro debut bout. He's very fast, sharp, and heavy handed with a great engine, so I would like to see his hands raised being the local lad.
"Artur though is also an absolute warrior and a solid puncher with both fists, as well as a granite jaw. I feel he may be the one to finish stronger. Boxing is so hard to predict especially with two heavy hitting warriors going at it toe to toe for 12 rounds, definitely going to be a stoppage!
"If I was to put a bet on this fight I would go with late knockout from AB in rounds 10-12. Iif goes the distance, still AB I think will be too much. Will wait and see in excitement."
Andy Gatenby, Retired undefeated featherweight
"It's a great fight for the fans to happen so early in the year before the boxing really gets going again. Both are big punchers, so it's hard to see this going the full 12.
"I would love Yarde to do the business and become a unified champion in his home city, but I know how formidable Beterbiev is – you don't get to be a unified world champion with the highest knockout ratio for nothing. He is going to be incredibly hard to beat, but I'll be rooting for Anthony all the way! He was so close to getting Kovalev out of there in his first world title shot, so let's hope he can do the same and see it through this time now that he's more experienced and got the home advantage."
Steve Wood, Boxing Manager & Promoter
"Every year you get a massive shock in the trade and Queensberry must believe the timing is right for Yarde to cause a big upset .
"Obviously you want the English fighter to win but on this occasion I cannot see anything but a KO win for Beterbiev and probably early."
Jamie Speight, Three-weight Southern Area champion
"I think it’s a good fight and I feel if Anthony Yarde wants success in the fight then he needs to box him at range early on and use his advantage of greater hand and foot speed, however I do see Beterbiev walking him down and cutting off the ring for a KO/TKO rounds 6-9. Having said that, I feel Yarde will be ahead on the cards at the point of stoppage if he adopts the style previously discussed of stick and move."
Tim Rickson, BBN Editor
"Both big punchers, so there's no way it can go the distance, surely?!
"Beterbiev has the highest knockout ratio of any reigning world champion, so we know just how formidable the Russian is.
"Yarde is also heavy handed and came very close to upsetting Kovalev when he had the champion reeling on the ropes in his own backyard, but now, this time, it's another world champion from Russia but it's in Yarde's backyard, which could help him gain an advantage, and he's a few years on Artur in youth too; who's 37 now, Yarde is 31. His two defeats, the stoppage to Kovalev, then the points loss and humbling to Lyndon Arthur, will both have taught him so much, so he has more experience on his side for his second world title shot.
"When it comes down to syles, I think there's a few things Yarde could exploit. Beterbiev can be backed up, so Yarde can go on the offensive, or he could counter quickly behind his 'Mayweatheresque' stance. But Beterbiev has the depth of education that Yarde lacks. Over 300 amateur bouts, two Olympic Games, Europen and World gold medals, wins over Oleksandr Usyk and Sergey Kovalev… when it comes to being in the trenches, that will be invaluable.
"Marcus Browne sustained unbelievable brutality to somehow survive to the ninth round and two other of his recent opponents went to the 10. Only Joe Smith Jr. was wiped out early in two rounds because he decided to go all-out attack… bad idea! So, I hope Yarde is patient and clever to take this fight to the championship stages.
"I'm desperate for Anthony to do it and I'll be backing him all the way, but I just think Beterbiev will be slightly too strong. Depending on how the fight goes, I think the stoppage could come in rounds 10-12, unless there's an early shootout."
Archie Goricki, Featherweight prospect
"My prediction is that Beterbiev will KO Yarde in the ninth round. Beterbiev is just superb in every way, and Yarde's lack of fundamental skills will cost him against such a great, technical and strong fighter in Beterbiev."
Ace Adam, Unbeaten light-heavyweight
"This fight is going to be the biggest fight for Anthony Yarde's boxing journey. My heart is going with Yarde, I think he could pull of the biggest upset of the start of 2023. Then logic will go with Artur, which is a serious guy – very interesting fight."
Uros Djikanovic, Boxing Manager & Advisor
"When it comes to this fight, I think Beterbiev wins with KO.
"Yarde is a great fighter but he is just not on the same level as Artur. Beterbiev has a lot of experience from amateur boxing. We have to appreciate Beterbiev's boxing ability. He is always looked as just a fighter with power punches. That’s is of course valid point of view, but his all-round boxing ability is one of a kind.
"In my opinion, Marcus Browne was his toughest opponent because Artur is not really great at handling southpaw movement. Even with that being said we saw what happened with Browne. He is in a category with all-time great fighters even though light-heavyweight category is packed with names such as Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles, Roy Jones Jr, Bernard Hopkins, etc… Other than Archie Moore, who I think is untouchable in that category, you can easily put him number two. Of course we will have to see how long he is able to sustain this level.
"Beterbiev is a big favorite in this fight. I can’t see Yarde winning. That being said, I still think this fight will be exciting to watch but personally I would like to see Beterbiev fight with Bivol or at least someone like Umar Salamov."
Chris Glover, Unbeaten lightweight
"Artur Beterbiev is a force of nature and believe it or not, is bigger close up that he appears at 175. He's a beast!
"He gets inside of Yarde, maybe weathers a storm at some point, but does a convincing job and wins by stoppage victory 7-10."
John J. Raspanti, www.maxboxing.com
"Artur Beterbiev is a force of nature.
"Anthony Yarde showed major mettle in avenging an earlier defeat to Lydon Arthur.
"Beterbiev is human. Callum Johnson knocked him down four years ago, but Beterbiev got up and took Johnson apart. Yarde almost defeated an aging Sergey Kovalev three years ago. He's improved since then, but not enough to defeat Beterbiev.
"I see the Russian-Canadian being too strong and durable.
"Beterbiev by stoppage before round seven."
Betting Insider Journal
"Yarde’s best chance of upsetting the odds here against Beterbiev is by being aggressive in the early rounds and attacking the Chechen’s body, and then going for a big KO. The benefit Beterbiev has here is that’s essentially what we experienced in his last fight against Joe Smith and Beterbiev proved he can match that ferocity and finish his opponents in the early rounds.
"Overall, this is an exciting match-up between two heavy hitters that are destructive in the light heavyweight division. Beterbiev is world class and his talent will shine on Jan 28, which will ultimately set up a blockbuster world title unification bout against Dmitry Bivol.
"I expect Beterbiev to score another KO win here within rounds 4-8 if you are a round-betting fan."
