Former light heavyweight world title challenger Anthony Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) will be returning to the ring for a 10-round fight against a still-to-be-determined opponent on February 10th at the Copper Box Arena in London, England.
This will be the second fight for the 32-year-old Yarde since being stopped in the eighth round by IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev last year in January at the O2 Arena in London.
Yarde gave Beterbiev one of the toughest fights of his career before running out of gas and getting stopped in the 8th. Yarde was ahead at the time of the stoppage, and many thought he could have won if his conditioning hadn’t failed him.
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Yarde, 32, is coming off a second-round knockout win over journeyman Jorge Silva last September. His promoter is going to have to move him against better opposition if he wants to get him a title shot quickly. Fighting journeymen aren’t going to help Yarde get another crack at a world title before he starts showing signs of age.
Unless there’s a pathway to a world title for Yarde without fighting any solid opposition, his promoter, Frank Warren, should put him in with these types of heavyweights to put him on the doorstep to face the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.
If nothing else, fighting A-level 175-lb contenders will get the attention of the Saudis, who might be interested in using Yarde for one of their cards.
Joshua Buatsi
Daniel Azeez
Oleksandr Gvozdyk
Albert Ramirez
Richard Rivera
Robert Krasniqi
Ahmed Elbiali
Lerrone Richards
Eddie Hearn manoeuvered Callum Smith into a WBC mandatory spot to challenge Beterbiev without matching him against quality opposition, so perhaps Warren might be on the right track, matching him against the likes of Silva and other journeymen-level fighters.
If Yarde can be trusted to best top ten contenders without falling part, that would still be the way to go.