Anthony Yarde says he’s hoping that Lyndon Arthur can pull off a massive upset in his title shot against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol this month on December 23rd at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Yarde admits that he can’t see Lyndon defeating Bivol, because it’s a very difficult fight for him. Still, he wants him to come out victorious out of self-interest motives, hoping for a third clash.
The 32-year-old Arthur (23-1, 16 KOs) is a big underdog in this fight despite only having one career defeat on his record, but he’s never beaten anyone that is anywhere near the level of Bivol talent-wise, including Yarde.
Bivol is just so much better than anyone Lyndon has ever fought that it’s difficult to consider a path to victory for Arthur other than a freak injury or Dmitry overlooking him completely.
Yarde says he’s pulling for Arthur to win so that the two can meet in a trilogy match in London. Arthur beat Yarde by a twelve round split decision in 2020 but then lost the rematch by a fourth round knockout in 2021.
Lyndon Arthur with formidable task against Dmitry Bivol
“I see that as being a very interesting fight. I’m always trying to support the Brit. It’s a very difficult fight. It’s a big ask of him,” said Anthony Yarde to iFL TV about Lyndon Arthur having what some view as an insurmountable task ahead of him, going against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on December 23rd.
In fairness to Lyndon Arthur, Yarde would be in the same boat if he were the doomed one facing Bivol, as he’s just as limited a fighter, and would humiliated by the Russian fighter.
Yarde’s claim to fame is giving Artur Beterbiev some problems before gassing and getting stopped in the eighth round last January.
“People wrote me off against [IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur] Beterbiev. I gave him his hardest fight [before being knocked out in the eighth round last January in London, England]. I thought I was winning the fight before I got stopped. Again, I surprised a lot of people.”
Yarde still lost the fight to Beterbiev, and showed the same gas tank issues that he’d exhibited in his loss to Sergey Kovalev 2019 in his eleventh round knockout.
Unfortunately, the body-building frame that Yarde has is a barrier that will prevent him from ever rising to the top in the 175-lb division.
As such, even if Lyndon gets destroyed by Bivol, he shouldn’t turn up his nose about fighting him in a trilogy because it might be his best option because he’s obviously never going to beat Beterbiev or Dmitry with his stamina problem. Moreover, once David Benavidez moves up to 175, that’ll be the end of any shot that Yarde has of winning a belt.
“Obviously, me and Lyndon have different attributes, completely different attributes, but I wouldn’t put it past him [Lyndon defeating Bivol],” said Yarde.
Lyndon unlikely to defeat Bivol
“I do see it as extremely, extremely, extremely unlikely, but if he can remain composed. I can’t. Bivol is going to win. I tried to support the Brit here,” said a laughing Yarde, who makes it clear that he can’t see Lyndon Arthur defeating Bivol on December 23rd.
Staying composed won’t help Lyndon against Bivol because if he fights in a relaxed manner, he’s going to be pounded with combinations all night and end up losing a wide decision.
The best chance that Lyndon has of winning is to go all out for the knockout early, take the fight to Bivol from the opening bell, and look to score a big shot. Lyndon might have success if he roughs up Bivol because he’s not going to do well trying to beat him at his own game by boxing.
“It’s the game of boxing. Everyone is opinionated. What I will say is I hope Lyndon Arthur can win; I hope he does win,” Yarde continued. “I’m always supporting the Brit. I’m always supporting someone that the upbringing where they’ve bettered their life.
“I know where he’s come from, and I hope he’s making the right decisions now. Again, he’s bettered his life. If he does win, that would be a hell of a trilogy in London somewhere. I just hope he wins the fight,” said Yarde, making it clear that he’s thinking more about his own best interests behind wanting Lyndon Arthur to defeat Bivol.
