Perhaps the biggest story in Boxing in 2022 came in the
month of May when undefeated WBA Light-Heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol
scored a dominant twelve round unanimous decision over current Undisputed
Super-Middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to retain his WBA
crown. While Bivol was naturally bigger and stronger than Alvarez and has a
difficult Boxing style that has proven difficult for opponents to combat, much
less solve, most viewed his victory over Alvarez as “An Upset.” This view,
which is not shared by this observer, is based largely on the fact that Alvarez
is one of the sport’s biggest stars and the expectation of many was that he
would defeat Bivol, a fighter not well-known to casual fans on what was his
quest to begin the process of trying to fully unify a second division after
what he had accomplished in fully unifying the 168lb. Super-Middleweight
division. While Boxing is truly the theater of the unexpected, Bivol did go
against the script that at least some had envisioned prior to that fight.
With victories over Alvarez and former Super-Middleweight
world champion Gilberto Ramirez in 2022 behind him, Bivol could potentially be
nearing either a rematch with Alvarez or a potential unification bout with the
only remaining world champion in the 175lb. Light-Heavyweight division. Artur Beterbiev.
Like Bivol, Beterbiev is an undefeated world champion, currently holding the
IBF, WBC, and WBO crowns in the division, which would make a potential
encounter with Bivol for the Undisputed Light-Heavyweight championship of the
world. Before the Boxing world can begin wetting their collective appetites for
that bout, Beterbiev has business to tend to as he will defend his unified
portion of the World Light-Heavyweight championship against IBF number three
rated contender Anthony Yarde on Saturday, January 28th at the Wembley Arena in London, England.
The fight, which can be seen here in the United States on
digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+, has one central question
that surrounds it. Can Yarde pull off what would be seen as a significant upset
and derail any potential plans for an undisputed clash between Beterbiev and
Bivol. This will be Yarde’s second opportunity at a world championship. In
August 2019, a then undefeated Yarde put forth a spirited effort against former
longtime WBO Light-Heavyweight world champion and division cornerstone Sergey
Kovalev before being stopped in the eleventh round. Yarde did appear to have
Kovalev in trouble throughout that fight and made a good account of himself in
defeat. Since that loss, Yarde has split two fights with Light-Heavyweight
contender Lyndon Arthur, losing a twelve round split decision in their first
fight in December 2020 and avenging that loss via fourth round knockout in
their rematch in December 2021.
The London-born Yarde will have significant support from
the crowd in attendance at the legendary Wembley Arena, but he does face a
difficult task in the champion Beterbiev. In some ways however, this is a
similar situation as the one the challenger faced when he fought Kovalev in
that like Kovalev, Beterbiev is a “Knockout Artist.”
Beterbiev has knocked out all eighteen of his previous
opponents as a professional and has the ability to end a fight with either
hand. What this will likely come down to is whether or not Yarde will be able
to combat the pressure of Beterbiev and do so for all twelve rounds if needed.
In his last title defense, Beterbiev destroyed WBO world champion Joe Smith in
two rounds. The champion has also shown the ability to overcome adversity
during a fight as he showed in his title defense against Marcus Browne in
December 2021, where he suffered a deep gash on his forehead early in the fight
as a result of an accidental clash of heads, before stopping Browne in the ninth
round. In both instances neither Browne or Smith had a way to deal with
Beterbiev‘s relentless pressure and could not avoid his punching power.
Yarde does have twenty-two knockouts in his twenty-three
career wins so he is also capable of ending a fight early should an opportunity
arise. Whether or not he will have a tactical approach or will attempt to fight
fire with fire and go toe to toe with Beterbiev remains to be seen. Wisdom
would suggest that he will need to find a way to dictate the fight from the
outset and try to nullify Beterbiev’s pressure if he wants to pull off the
upset in front of a hometown crowd, as the champion has only shown one approach
in his career, seek and destroy.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
Beterbiev vs. Yarde takes place on Saturday, January
29th at the Wembley Arena in London, England. The card can be seen in
the United States on digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+
beginning at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT.
ESPN+ is
available through the ESPN app on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming
devices and smart TVs. For more information about ESPN+ including schedules,
list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, and to subscribe
please visit: www.ESPNPlus.com.
*Card and start time subject to change.*
*Check your local listings internationally.*
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau
Denison All Rights Reserved.
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