Tag: Anthony Yarde

Artur Beterbiev isn’t your run-of-the-mill knockout artist.

The light heavyweight champ and his handlers insist he’s a well-rounded fighter. And he is. He was a two-time Olympian for his native Russia, meaning his game is built on a solid fundamental foundation.

You can’t get around one overwhelming statistic, however: Beterbiev has stopped all 18 of his opponents, including seven in title fights. He will shoot for No. 19 in his title defense against Anthony Yarde on Saturday in London (ESPN+).

Is Beterbiev the biggest puncher in the sport?

His promoter, Bob Arum, who has worked with some of the most powerful men over the past half century, thinks so.

“There are fighters today who are known for their power,” he said with Beterbiev to his side at a news conference Thursday. “The two heavyweights particularly, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, the lighter weight guys like Inoue and Terence Crawford.

“But I think pound-for-pound the biggest puncher in boxing today is the guy on my right. He has knocked out every opponent who has been put in front of him, not because he is not a good boxer – because he is – but he also has that magic that you can’t really train a fighter for.

“It is instinctive, the ability to punch and knock out an opponent.”

Beterbiev’s knockout streak is particularly impressive because his level of opposition the past several years.

Detractors might suggest that Beterbiev is more of a heavy puncher who breaks down opponents before he stops them than a one-punch knockout artist. After all, four of the aforementioned seven championship fights have ended in the ninth round or later, meaning he needed time to finish the job.

However, Wilder, who IS seen as a one-and-done puncher, has needed time to put many of his opponents away, too.

Perhaps it comes down to the tactics of the opponent. A dancer can survive for a while. Foes willing to exchange punches with fighters like Beterbiev and Wilder flirt with instantaneous disaster.

Ask former titleholder Joe Smith Jr., Beterbiev’s most-recent opponent. Smith attacked Beterbiev aggressively and failed to get out of the second round.

For their part, Beterbiev and trainer Marc Ramsay don’t seem to care much about the knockout streak. And they certainly don’t rely solely on Beterbiev’s ability to hurt opponents in their pursuit of victory.

“In our camp, we always try to be ready for different scenarios. If it’s a tough fight, we’re going to be ready,” said Beterbiev, a humble man of few words.

Said Ramsay: “I know everyone wants to talk about [Beterbiev’s KO streak] and has questions about this, but this is really not the focus we have as a team. We work with Artur to get ready to fight the best way we can.

“Power is power. Power is there, but that is not the main objective for us. We don’t put the focus on that.”

He leaves that to the rest of us.

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Artur Beterbiev isn’t your run-of-the-mill knockout artist.

The light heavyweight champ and his handlers insist he’s a well-rounded fighter. And he is. He was a two-time Olympian for his native Russia, meaning his game is built on a solid fundamental foundation.

You can’t get around one overwhelming statistic, however: Beterbiev has stopped all 18 of his opponents, including seven in title fights. He will shoot for No. 19 in his title defense against Anthony Yarde on Saturday in London (ESPN+).

Is Beterbiev the biggest puncher in the sport?

His promoter, Bob Arum, who has worked with some of the most powerful men over the past half century, thinks so.

“There are fighters today who are known for their power,” he said with Beterbiev to his side at a news conference Thursday. “The two heavyweights particularly, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, the lighter weight guys like Inoue and Terence Crawford.

“But I think pound-for-pound the biggest puncher in boxing today is the guy on my right. He has knocked out every opponent who has been put in front of him, not because he is not a good boxer – because he is – but he also has that magic that you can’t really train a fighter for.

“It is instinctive, the ability to punch and knock out an opponent.”

Beterbiev’s knockout streak is particularly impressive because his level of opposition the past several years.

Detractors might suggest that Beterbiev is more of a heavy puncher who breaks down opponents before he stops them than a one-punch knockout artist. After all, four of the aforementioned seven championship fights have ended in the ninth round or later, meaning he needed time to finish the job.

However, Wilder, who IS seen as a one-and-done puncher, has needed time to put many of his opponents away, too.

Perhaps it comes down to the tactics of the opponent. A dancer can survive for a while. Foes willing to exchange punches with fighters like Beterbiev and Wilder flirt with instantaneous disaster.

Ask former titleholder Joe Smith Jr., Beterbiev’s most-recent opponent. Smith attacked Beterbiev aggressively and failed to get out of the second round.

For their part, Beterbiev and trainer Marc Ramsay don’t seem to care much about the knockout streak. And they certainly don’t rely solely on Beterbiev’s ability to hurt opponents in their pursuit of victory.

“In our camp, we always try to be ready for different scenarios. If it’s a tough fight, we’re going to be ready,” said Beterbiev, a humble man of few words.

Said Ramsay: “I know everyone wants to talk about [Beterbiev’s KO streak] and has questions about this, but this is really not the focus we have as a team. We work with Artur to get ready to fight the best way we can.

“Power is power. Power is there, but that is not the main objective for us. We don’t put the focus on that.”

He leaves that to the rest of us.

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Unified 175-pound titleholder Artur Beterbiev will defend his belts and seek his 19^th knockout in as many fights against Anthony Yarde on Saturday in London (ESPN+).

ARTUR BETERBIEV (18-0, 18 KOS) VS. ANTHONY YARDE (23-2, 22 KOS)

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 28
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: London
• TV/Stream: ESPN+
• Division: Light heavyweights (175 pounds)
• At stake: Beterbiev’s IBF, WBC and WBO titles
• Pound-for-pound ranking: Beterbiev No. 12
• Odds: Beterbiev 7-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
• Also on the card: Artem Dalakian vs. David Jimenez, flyweights (for Dalakian’s WBA title); Willy Hutchinson vs. Emil Markic, light heavyweights; Karol Itauma vs. Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna, light heavyweights
• Prediction: Beterbiev KO 8
• Background: Beterbiev and Yarde have knocked out a combined 40 of their 41 victims, a clear indication that both men have unusual punching power. The problem for Yarde could be that Beterbiev has been stopping a higher level of opposition. The 38-year-old Russian won his first title against Enrico Koelling in 2017 and has added two more belts since, all in a span of seven fights. The two-time Olympian is coming off a second-round knockout of Joe Smith Jr. in a title-unification showdown last June. Yarde, a 31-year-old Londoner, was outboxed and then stopped by then-beltholder Sergey Kovalev in his first title fight in 2019. He’s 6-1 since, including an upset split-decision setback against Lyndon Arthur in 2020. He avenged that loss by stopping Arthur in four rounds in their rematch the following year. He followed that with another stoppage of Stefani Koykov last November, his most-recent fight. The Beterbiev-Yarde fight was originally scheduled for October but was pushed back because the champion was injured.

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Unified 175-pound titleholder Artur Beterbiev will defend his belts and seek his 19^th knockout in as many fights against Anthony Yarde on Saturday in London (ESPN+).

ARTUR BETERBIEV (18-0, 18 KOS) VS. ANTHONY YARDE (23-2, 22 KOS)

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 28
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: London
• TV/Stream: ESPN+
• Division: Light heavyweights (175 pounds)
• At stake: Beterbiev’s IBF, WBC and WBO titles
• Pound-for-pound ranking: Beterbiev No. 12
• Odds: Beterbiev 7-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
• Also on the card: Artem Dalakian vs. David Jimenez, flyweights (for Dalakian’s WBA title); Willy Hutchinson vs. Emil Markic, light heavyweights; Karol Itauma vs. Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna, light heavyweights
• Prediction: Beterbiev KO 8
• Background: Beterbiev and Yarde have knocked out a combined 40 of their 41 victims, a clear indication that both men have unusual punching power. The problem for Yarde could be that Beterbiev has been stopping a higher level of opposition. The 38-year-old Russian won his first title against Enrico Koelling in 2017 and has added two more belts since, all in a span of seven fights. The two-time Olympian is coming off a second-round knockout of Joe Smith Jr. in a title-unification showdown last June. Yarde, a 31-year-old Londoner, was outboxed and then stopped by then-beltholder Sergey Kovalev in his first title fight in 2019. He’s 6-1 since, including an upset split-decision setback against Lyndon Arthur in 2020. He avenged that loss by stopping Arthur in four rounds in their rematch the following year. He followed that with another stoppage of Stefani Koykov last November, his most-recent fight. The Beterbiev-Yarde fight was originally scheduled for October but was pushed back because the champion was injured.

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One might glance at the record of Anthony Yarde – 23 victories, 22 knockouts – and assume that the light heavyweight contender is a one-dimensional slugger.

Not so, he says. The Londoner plans to fight intelligently when he challenges titleholder Artur Beterbiev on Saturday at OVO Arena Wembley in Yarde’s hometown.

And he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about that approach.

“How often do you see someone just go in there swinging?” said Yarde (23-2). “All the biggest knockout punchers, like GGG, he didn’t go in just hitting and trying to knock people out. He had a tactical approach. He’s got an excellent jab and used to wear down his opponents.

“Mike Tyson. People call him a brawler, disrespectfully, for years. Only now people are starting to see the more technical side of his boxing and are saying this guy was a masterful counter-puncher.”

He went on: “Even early in your career when you are fighting people you are meant to beat, you find prospects struggling with these guys because you don’t just go in and knock someone out. It doesn’t work like that. It is boxing, it is an art.

“You’ve got to pick someone apart and then land the shots. I said this early on, my thing is I am a powerful, accurate puncher. I find the shot and, when I find it and land it, people are going to feel it.”

And Yarde was quick to point out that won’t alter his style to please anyone else.

“I don’t want to have somebody else’s career,” he said. “That is what happens in boxing and people are telling you, you should be doing this, you should be doing that.

“If I listened to everyone that was saying things, I would not be where I am today. When I started boxing people said all sorts of things until I would do it. It is a compromise, you can’t please everybody, in boxing or any sport, really.

“When Mike Tyson was knocking out everybody, I remember watching one of his fights with the commentary on and they said that people were starting to say he was fighting nobodies. People are always going to have something to say.

“Then when he went 10 rounds they said he was not the real deal, after all. So you can’t win. If you go 10, win every round and don’t get hit, they say the guy you fought was nothing, but he didn’t knock him out like we wanted to see.

“When you do get the stoppage, some people say you knocked him out too early, ‘What is he learning from that?’ He is learning how to knock someone out! That is what he’s doing.

“That is my thing as well, the more I knock people out, the more I have learned how to do it in different ways. That is the way I see it.”

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One might glance at the record of Anthony Yarde – 23 victories, 22 knockouts – and assume that the light heavyweight contender is a one-dimensional slugger.

Not so, he says. The Londoner plans to fight intelligently when he challenges titleholder Artur Beterbiev on Saturday at OVO Arena Wembley in Yarde’s hometown.

And he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about that approach.

“How often do you see someone just go in there swinging?” said Yarde (23-2). “All the biggest knockout punchers, like GGG, he didn’t go in just hitting and trying to knock people out. He had a tactical approach. He’s got an excellent jab and used to wear down his opponents.

“Mike Tyson. People call him a brawler, disrespectfully, for years. Only now people are starting to see the more technical side of his boxing and are saying this guy was a masterful counter-puncher.”

He went on: “Even early in your career when you are fighting people you are meant to beat, you find prospects struggling with these guys because you don’t just go in and knock someone out. It doesn’t work like that. It is boxing, it is an art.

“You’ve got to pick someone apart and then land the shots. I said this early on, my thing is I am a powerful, accurate puncher. I find the shot and, when I find it and land it, people are going to feel it.”

And Yarde was quick to point out that won’t alter his style to please anyone else.

“I don’t want to have somebody else’s career,” he said. “That is what happens in boxing and people are telling you, you should be doing this, you should be doing that.

“If I listened to everyone that was saying things, I would not be where I am today. When I started boxing people said all sorts of things until I would do it. It is a compromise, you can’t please everybody, in boxing or any sport, really.

“When Mike Tyson was knocking out everybody, I remember watching one of his fights with the commentary on and they said that people were starting to say he was fighting nobodies. People are always going to have something to say.

“Then when he went 10 rounds they said he was not the real deal, after all. So you can’t win. If you go 10, win every round and don’t get hit, they say the guy you fought was nothing, but he didn’t knock him out like we wanted to see.

“When you do get the stoppage, some people say you knocked him out too early, ‘What is he learning from that?’ He is learning how to knock someone out! That is what he’s doing.

“That is my thing as well, the more I knock people out, the more I have learned how to do it in different ways. That is the way I see it.”

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The most proficient active knockout artist returns to the ring on Saturday at SSE Arena in London (ESPN+).

That’s when and where Artur Beterbiev will defend his three world light heavyweight titles and try to extend his streak of knockouts to 19 in as many fights against Londoner Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs).

Beterbiev probably is best known for the fact that he has stopped all of his 18 opponents. However, there are other interesting we can apply to the Russian-Canadian.

Here is Beterbiev by the numbers:

0

Medals won in two appearances in the Olympics.

1

Amateur world championships.

1

Professional fights outside North America.

1-2

Reported record against Oleksandr Usyk in the amateur ranks.

2

Round in which he knocked out Joe Smith Jr. in his most-recent fight, this past June.

3

Number of major world 175-pound titles he currently holds (IBF, WBC and WBO).

3

Undefeated fighters he has faced as a professional.

4-0

Record against former or current world titleholders (Tavoris Cloud, Gabriel Campillo, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Joe Smith Jr.).

4.6

Average number of rounds his fights have lasted.

7

Stoppages in less than two full rounds.

7

Round in which his longest fight ended (against Alexander Johnson).

18-0

Professional record. Perfection is impressive.

38

His age. How much longer can he fight at an elite level?

39

Percentage of his fights in which a major world title was at stake.

100

Knockout percentage. Can’t do better than that.

152-7-1

Opponents’ combined record in his major title fights.

295-5

Beterbiev’s reported amateur record.

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The most proficient active knockout artist returns to the ring on Saturday at SSE Arena in London (ESPN+).

That’s when and where Artur Beterbiev will defend his three world light heavyweight titles and try to extend his streak of knockouts to 19 in as many fights against Londoner Anthony Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs).

Beterbiev probably is best known for the fact that he has stopped all of his 18 opponents. However, there are other interesting we can apply to the Russian-Canadian.

Here is Beterbiev by the numbers:

0

Medals won in two appearances in the Olympics.

1

Amateur world championships.

1

Professional fights outside North America.

1-2

Reported record against Oleksandr Usyk in the amateur ranks.

2

Round in which he knocked out Joe Smith Jr. in his most-recent fight, this past June.

3

Number of major world 175-pound titles he currently holds (IBF, WBC and WBO).

3

Undefeated fighters he has faced as a professional.

4-0

Record against former or current world titleholders (Tavoris Cloud, Gabriel Campillo, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Joe Smith Jr.).

4.6

Average number of rounds his fights have lasted.

7

Stoppages in less than two full rounds.

7

Round in which his longest fight ended (against Alexander Johnson).

18-0

Professional record. Perfection is impressive.

38

His age. How much longer can he fight at an elite level?

39

Percentage of his fights in which a major world title was at stake.

100

Knockout percentage. Can’t do better than that.

152-7-1

Opponents’ combined record in his major title fights.

295-5

Beterbiev’s reported amateur record.

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