Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde put on a fight of the year contender
Photos: Top Rank
Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19KO) retained his WBC/WBO/IBF unified light heavyweight titles as well as his fearsome 100% knockout ratio on Saturday night by scoring an eighth-round technical knockout victory over popular British puncher Anthony Yarde (23-3, 22KO) at the OVO Arena Wembley in London.
At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Yarde ahead with scores of 68-65 and 67-66, while one judge had it 67-66 for Beterbiev. However, the king of the 175-pound division caght the Hackney hitter with a chopping right hand in the eighth round and followed uo with another to floor 'The Beast from the East' in front of his home crowd. The 31-year-old Londoner bravely rose to his feet to continue, but after another right hand came in, trainer Tunde Ajayi jumped up to the canvas to call a halt to the contest.
BBN asked their panel of experts what they thought of the thrilling fight:
Enzo Maccarinelli, Former world cruiserweight champion
"Tunde as had his naysayers, but I thought he prepared Yarde well tonight and I thought the timing was right and he saved his boy from getting hurt. He didn't raise his hands, he didn't walk forwards, he didn't look at the referee… technically, Steve Gray should have stopped the fight then, but he let the fight go on."
Miles Shinkwin, English light-heavyweight champion
"The fight was very close. A round either way was fine but there was just a sense that Beterbiev would win, I never felt during the fight that Yarde was going to win even when he clearly had Beterbiev hurt.
"Yarde's stock has risen, for sure, but I think he needs a trainer to match the talent he clearly has. He has every attribute to be a world champion apart from the right advice at the right time in the corner.
"Beterbiev is the beast we all thought he was but I think Bivol beats him.
"With that being said. The timing of the stoppage from Tunde was absolutely spot on."
Nathan Weise, Southern Area title contender
"Yarde being a former stable mate and someone I talk to when we cross paths, I was routing for him to win. A top coach in Tundai Ajayi, who I turned professional with in 2005, I always knew he was in good hands, a lot of lessons learnt from Yarde building up to this mega fight and it showed. Yarde on the back foot early on was expected, but he settled in to a rhythm and made it look like the upset could happen, but this wasn’t to be. Beterbiev, an absolute monster, showed his class and experience once he stepped on the gas.
"Anthony can hold his chin high with a bright future, a possible fight with Buatsi would be mouthwatering, also moving forward a fight between Beterbiev and Bivol seems likely to happen and my money would be on Bivol, a classy operator with all attributes to cause anyone problems."
Tim Rickson, BBN Editor:
"I thought Yarde did himself and his fans proud. He was right to adopt the tactics he did; his flinching, jittery style, pawing out his left jab and swiping left hook to start with kept AB off his rhythm and worked to rack up the rounds in his favour. I was sat ringside for this fight and I could see Yarde's face being marked up quite early, which just shows the power Beterbiev has. Just a couple of his compact, stiff jabs to the face and it very quickly caused swelling, then opened up a cut under his right eye. Yarde wasn't loading up on his punches, and when he did, he managed to land some eyecatching shots, but also missed at times too.
"Yarde matched a pound-for-pound top 10 fighter, but I think the difference was in the power, as well as experience. One jab landing from AB did far more damage than anything Yarde could land back with. Also, his powers of recovery… when Yarde landed a big shot and visibly affected the champion, it took only moments for the Russian to be able to recover and turn the tables back again. One moment Beterbiev would be hurt and retreating, next moment he's turned Yarde in the corner and unleashing hell upon him! I thought Yarde learnt from the Kovalev fight but still showed a lack of experience. When he was cornered or under immense pressure, he should have clinched more to find some respite. Instead, he opted to tuck up behind a guard and attemt to throw back, but in doing so, he took a lot of unneccessary punishment. Just hold, breathe, reshape and go again. Tunde stepping in when he did was correct and compassionate, and in no way early at all. Anyone that questions that stoppage doesn't really have any real knowledge of boxing.
"I naturally want to see Beterbiev vs Bivol next, which I have Bivol winning right now, being such a master of range, but selfishly I'd like the Brit, Callum Smith, to get his shot. Smith's power gives him a great chance against Beterbiev, but no one seems to be able to follow up on their success against him. Knock him down or hurt this man just results in a raging bull coming back at you! Bivol's masterful judgement of range, of which he is one of the best in the world, makes me believe he could box clever to beat Beterbiev.
"Yarde has shown he belongs at world level, there's plenty of big fights out there for him. A domestic showdown with Joshua Buatsi would be huge! There's also Gilberto Ramirez on the world stage, Joe Smith Jr in New York, Andre Dirrell. I don't think Yarde beats Bivol though, so I'm not sure where he could win a world title from."
Ace Adam, Undefeated super-middleweight
"The Yarde fight was absolutely entertaining, exciting, and there were ups and downs. Yarde showed great determination, great heart, and he may not have got the belts but he gained massive experience, which you can't pay for. So, with that being said, I think he is on the right track, he learnt from the Kovalev fight and done really well. With Artur, he showed great ring management and he just had the superior experience over Yarde within that fight. Yarde was there, he was in that fight, so certain little bits that Yarde needed to do but couldn't do because of the lack of experience compared to Artur because he's been there many times before, so he knows what he needs to do, but what a great fight!"
Niall O'Connell, Boxing writer
"Yarde's performance was outstanding. It was a rare occurrence where a fighter's stock went up even after a defeat. Personally, I will admit that I didn't think Yarde has a performance like that in him. His durability in the face of the Beterbiev storm was phenomenal.
"Yarde still has plenty of mouthwatering fights available to him in a thriving light heavyweight scene, before he makes that jump to world level. Personally, I would be very intrigued to see him face Joshua Buatsi in a brilliant domestic dustup.
"I will start by saying I am a big fan of Callum Smith, and I think he is even more of a threat at 175lbs than he was at super middleweight, however I can only see a potential Beterbiev fight ending one way, and that is a dominant stoppage win for the unified light heavyweight king. That's no knock on Smith, as I think everyone else who steps in the ring with Beterbiev will face the same result.
"For me, it is the most exciting potential superfight in the sport today, even ahead of Crawford vs Spence. A stylistic dream for fans. In terms of the outcome, I think Bivol builds up an early lead, before Beterbiev slowly clubs away at his countryman to claim another destructive stoppage and collect all the marbles at light heavyweight."
Arijan Goricki, Featherweight prospect
"I didn't score the fight but it was close at the time of the stoppage. Yarde was better then most people thought he will be, he was going for it and with that he earned respect from every boxing fan.
"With this experience and little bit of work he will win World belt in year or two. Him and Buatsi would be great fight but I don't see it happening this year.
"I don't think that Callum Smith will be able to compete with Artur Beterbiev, I would more like to see him and Bivol for the undisputed and then he can retire because he isn't young either and he slowly coming to the end.
"Bivol Beterbiev is great fight for boxing fans. Fight that is 50-50 and it's hard to pick the winner.. I think that Bivol is fresher of two and would win the fight with his movement and jab, but you can't count out Beterbiev, he is dangerous and composed in the first as he is in the last round."
John J. Raspanti, www.maxboxing.com lead writer/editor
"Yarde did better than I expected. He has improved since the Kovalev fight. I had Beterbiev ahead by two rounds, heading to the eighth.
"Not sure what Yarde should do next. He fought his heart out against the monster of his division. Take a break, regroup, and start again. He has nothing to be ashamed of.
"Callum Smith can fight. He didn't do well against Canelo, but he'd bring it. Beterbiev by stoppage.
"I give the edge to Bivol – he'd box and counter, but what happens when Beterbiev lands one of his heavy shots?"
Uros Djikanovic, Boxing manager & advisor
"I thinked Yarde's performance was actually very good. His movement was great. Him and his coach prepared pretty good. He landed some great punches on Beterbiev. Only problem I had were Yarde's gloves. He wore Adidas gloves. I understand they probably paid him to sponsor Adidas, but little things make a big difference. Especially when you want to exchange punches with someone like Beterbiev. I think Yarde should have wore Cleto Reyes or Rival, like Beterbiev. I really think that would have made a big difference when you add all the rounds and punches landed by Yarde. I had Yarde ahead but not by much. I think judges really favored the home fighter.
"I think Yarde should wait a bit and see what happens between Beterbiev and Bivol.
"I think Beterbiev wins the fight against Callum Smith if that fight happens."
Aqib Tahlat, BBN Writer
"That was a fight of the year contender already. It was such an intriguing fight where I had Beterbiev slightly ahead, just slightly. Yarde showing again, like he did against Kovalev, that he has unreal heart but just fell short once again unfortunately.
"In my opinion, I would love Yarde to face Buatsi, that’s the fight I want to see. I’m sure that’s the fight most British fans want to see. However with Buatsi being with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom it won’t be an easy fight to make.
"I still go with Arthur Beterbiev in that fight with the power and experience he has at 175 I have him winning that. Callum Smith looks very good since moving up to light heavyweight however his lack of experience in that weight gives Beterbiev the edge for me.
"A couple years ago I had Beterbiev winning comfortably however with him being now 38 years of age with some brutal fights recently I have Bivol slightly favourite. Bivol won comfortably against Canelo and Ramirez and with age on his side I think he should win that fight whoever it’s one of the best fights to make in boxing right now."
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Things you didn't know about Artur Beterbiev
