Anthony Yarde defeated by unbeaten Artur Beterbiev in truly classic fight
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Anthony Yarde was brave but the brilliance of Artur Beterbiev was just too much for him.
The Brit failed in his bid to dethrone the light-heavyweight king of the WBO, WBC and IBF belts but he can keep his head held high after this performance.
It was a classic clash but Beterbiev got the win in the eighth when Yarde’s trainer Tunde Ajayi called for the fight to be stopped.
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Referee Steve Gray stepped in as the Russian-born monster extended his perfect professional record to 19 knockouts in the same amount of wins.
Yarde, 31, can come again but he just couldn’t put a dent in the brilliant Beterbiev despite his bold performance. This was another night in which the Canadian national showed why he is one of the best boxers on the planet and one of the most feared punchers.
He put Yarde down in the eighth when a right rocked him and another sent him over. Beterbiev clinically went for the finish as Yarde was pinned on the ropes and his corner had seen enough. Yarde came into the fight as a massive underdog given Beterbiev’s class and status in the sport.
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Beterbiev walked down Yarde from the first bell in menacing fashion behind a ram-rod of a jab. But the Brit did stop him coming forward with a couple of left hooks on the counter to show – with 22 knockouts of his own – that he had some serious power as well.
The fight caught fire in the second as Beterbiev finally pinned Yarde in a corner and fizzed in a right hand that hurt the challenger. But the Londoner rallied, landing another left hook that gave the defending champion more than something to think about.
Beterbiev’s jab was a thing of beauty as he continually landed with pin-point accuracy in the third. He finished the round with a fine left hook that buzzed Yarde.
It was brave stuff from the Brit, who lost his previous world title challenge against Sergey Kovalev in 2019, but the class of the champion was started to shine through. Another left shot Yarde’s head back at the start of the fourth and it was followed by a stinging right hand.
Yarde rallied again, bringing roars from the home crowd but he walked into a big right hand when he thought he had Beterbiev finally on the back foot. The Brit had limited amateur experience but he was in against someone with real pedigree in the sport here and over 300 bouts before he turned professional.
Even at 38, Beterbiev looked superb while Yarde began to tire. His right eye was also starting to swell up as Beterbiev moved through the gears. He landed flush with a right hand that got the arena roaring but Beterbiev barely flinched.
The champion retaliated by firing off a series of body and head shots when he got Yarde into a corner again.
Yarde came out swinging but the blood was also flowing from under his right eye.
The seventh was scrappy until a big right landed from Yarde which shook Beterbiev up and he retaliated before another uppercut from the Brit got through.
Then the end came in the eighth after a breathless affair.
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