By Alex Fesl: Artur Beterbiev efficiently defended his WBO, WBC, and IBF gentle heavyweight titles with a dominant and thrilling efficiency in opposition to aggressive Anthony Yarde.
We noticed good back-and-forth motion from each fighters. Beterbiev confirmed a controlling but highly effective jab, a thunderous proper hand, in addition to his standard iron chin. Yarde confirmed great coronary heart and landed his fair proportion of heavy proper arms.
On the finish, Beterbiev’s fixed stress lastly caught up with Yarde and ended the battle within the eighth spherical with a pair of vicious proper arms. Fairly curiously, ringside judges had Yarde forward on two of the three playing cards with scores 68-65, 67-66, and 67-66 for Beterbiev.
Some key takeaways from the battle beneath
Beterbiev Continues Dominating the 175lb division. Dominant knockout wins over the extremely gifted and expert AnthonyYarde, Joe Smith, and Marcus Browne present that Beterbiev is arguably the perfect fighter at gentle heavyweight.
Some could argue that WBA gentle heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is the perfect fighter at gentle heavyweight. Bivol holds spectacular victories over Canelo Alvarez, Zurdo Ramirez, and Joe Smith.
In my view, Beterbiev has a extra spectacular resume and likewise is equally spectacular in destroying his competitors in every outing. On the finish of the day, the one one option to decide the perfect at gentle heavyweight is a title unification showdown between Beterbiev and Bivol.
Beterbiev Confirmed Some Vulnerability
Beterbiev had a nasty lower above his eyelid and appreciable injury to his face on the finish of the battle. Beforehand in opposition to Marcus Browne, Beterbiev additionally had a harmful lower that allowed Browne to have his moments and win some rounds. Are we seeing father time meet up with Beterbiev? Maybe…
On the identical time, Yarde and Browne are each very sturdy fighters that may maintain their very own in opposition to anybody within the 175 lb division.
Yarde Ought to Not Have Been Forward on the Scorecards. On my scorecard, I generously scored two rounds for Yarde. Even in thetwo rounds I gave Yarde, Beterbiev utilized efficient stress, landed highly effective counters, and landed sturdy lead jabs. I can think about if the battle was in a unique location from London like Las Vegas or New York, the scorecards would most likely have favored Beterbiev.
What’s Subsequent For Beterbiev?
The battle that followers need is a title unification tremendous battle withDmitry Bivol. That battle doesn’t appear to be taking place this yr, although.
Bivol is rumored to be combating Joshua Buatsi in early spring and/or combating a rematch vs. Canelo Alvarez in September, maybe at 168 lbs.
If any of these fights develop into official, Beterbiev is obligated to defend his WBC belt vs. Callum Smith. Whereas these potential matchups aren’t unhealthy fights, battle followers would a lot fairly see Bivol and Beterbiev battle for all of the belts.
Moreover, Beterbiev will seemingly be 39 years outdated if a unification battle doesn’t materialize till subsequent yr. One can solely think about how lengthy Beterbiev can keep in prime type.
