Artur Beterbiev says he’s studied the past fights of his opponent WBO mandatory Anthony Yarde and he know what he’s up against this Saturday night at the OVO Arena in London, England.
IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) is the favorite to beat the upset-minded Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs), and move on from there for the undisputed fight against WBA champ Dmitry Bivol later this year.
Yarde, 31, is all over the place talking about his game plan for the fight. At times, he talks about wanting to unleash his brutal power on Beterbiev to knock him out within the first three rounds, but then in the next interview, he talks about wanting to box him.
It sounds like Yarde is conflicted and will likely wind up winging it, depending on how things play out early.
“We’ve learned enough about him,” said Artur Beterbiev to Boxing Social about him and his team have studied some of Anthony Yarde’s past fights.
“We’ll live, and we’ll see,” Beterbiev said about how his fight with Yarde will play out. “I had a good camp and sparring partners. I try to do my best.
‘Right now, I’m only thinking about Saturday night,” said Beterbiev when asked if he’s looking forward to the undisputed championship bout with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
“We watched with my team. We watched his fight with Kovalev, yes. People can say anything,” Beterbiev said when told that boxing fans are saying that Yarde will knock him out.
“He can say that; he can say anything,” Beterbiev said in reacting to being told that Eddie Hearn stated that if Yarde attempts to box with him, he’ll get knocked out.
“Me and my team try to be ready for anything. When you work, you want to do your work more. I want to do my work more as I can,” said Beterbiev when asked if he wants to fight three times in 2023.
“I’m not thinking about it [fighting Canelo Alvarez]. I’m staying more in the boxing gym, and maybe that’s why I’m stable,” Beterbiev said when asked why he hasn’t shown signs of age.
“Yes, I feel like I’m a little bit better than a couple of years ago. I can’t compare because it’s a different fight and Joe Smith, at that time, had a belt. Now, it’s not belts,” said Beterbiev when asked to compare Yarde to Joe Smith Jr. “It’s not comparable, I think.”
