Anthony Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) will be challenging IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) for his three belts on January 28th.
Yarde’s promoter Frank Warren revealed on Monday that he’d be facing Beterbiev next in January. Before that, Yarde will be taking a tune-up fight on November 19th.
The opponent still isn’t known yet, but it’s likely to be someone harmless that won’t upset his title shot.
Beterbiev will likely be a monstrous favorite in this fight because Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) has nowhere near the same amateur experience, and he’s looked shaky through many of his fights as a pro. This should be a very easy fight for Beterbiev.
“He’s going to fight on the same card as Zach [Parker], and then he’ll have the fight for the three titles, and that’ll be on the 28th of January next year,” said Frank Warren to iFL TV about when WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde will face IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
“He’s [Yarde] not had a fight in 12 months now, so he needs to get some ring rust out of his system. That’ll be in London,” said Warren.
Yarde has excellent punching power in both hands, but his problem is his chin weak, and his boxing skills are rudimentary at best.
This isn’t the fight that the boxing world wants to see. Fans want to see Beterbiev battle WBA champion Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed championship, but it’s not possible right now.
Bivol is busy defending against his WBA mandatory Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez next month on November 5th, and should he win that fight, he could face Canelo Alvarez next if the Mexican star doesn’t lose his nerve.
Beterbiev is coming off a spectacular second round knockout victory over WBO champion Joe Smith Jr last June at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The fight was supposed to be a competitive one, but Beterbiev’s power was immediately a huge problem for Smith, who totally caved in, getting blown out in the second round.
Yarde, 31, will be fighting for a world title for the second time after suffering an eleventh round knockout defeat at the hands of WBO 175-lb champion Sergey Kovalev in August 2019.
It’s hard to say for certainty if Yarde has improved since then because his opposition has been nothing special in the last three years, and he was beaten by London Arthur.
