Eddie Hearn Believes Artur Beterbiev Will Be Too Much For Anthony Yarde
Plenty of folks are chiming in with their predictions for the upcoming January 28 light heavyweight showdown between unified champion Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) and WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde (23-2, 20 KOs). Among those sharing their opinion is Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn.
ONLY ONE PATH TO VICTORY
During an interview on The DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn broke down the upcoming contest.
“The only chance that Yarde has in this fight is to gamble early. […] What you cannot do with Artur Beterbiev is box off the back foot, trying to take him into deep waters because you’re going to get walked down, you’re going to get beat up.
“Whether it’s the elbows, whether it’s the neck, whether it’s the side of the head, you’re gonna have damage done to you as those rounds progress.
“Anthony Yarde is a sharp puncher. He can punch; he’s explosive. The best chance he has in this fight is to do that early.”
To Hearn’s point, the defending champ is a slow starter and takes a few rounds to warm up. The only time Beterbiev has been down in his career was in the second round of a four-round war against Callum Johnson in October 2018.
RELATED: Team Beterbiev: “It’s Not About Money; Artur Wants That Fourth Belt!”
FATAL FLAW
Despite Yarde’s punching power and explosiveness, the man who runs Matchroom Boxing feels that his weakness is his stamina, which may prove his ultimate undoing the longer the fight goes on.
“Yarde, in my opinion, doesn’t have the tank to fight off the back foot under the pressure of Beterbiev for 9, 10, 11, 12 rounds. His punch power will diminish.
“He’ll be affected during those rounds. […] He has to be aggressive in the opening three rounds and try and put a dent in Beterbiev. If he doesn’t, he’s gonna get punished for the whole fight.”
Hearn will be paying close attention to what happens. He promotes reigning WBA champ and 3kingsboxing.com’s 2022 Fighter of the Year pick Dmitry Bivol. The champ has been on record stating his goal is to become the undisputed champ at 175.
RELATED: Bivol: “Canelo Is Not My Goal! I Want To Be Undisputed At 175!”
Hearn would love to pit his fighter against the winner either by the end of 2023 or early 2024. Be it Hearn, Bivol, or any other boxing aficionado, there is high anticipation and interest in Beterbiev vs Yarde.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
