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Anthony Yarde Is An Example To Follow For All Fighters

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By Sina Latif

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Published: February 02, 2023

Once again, Anthony Yarde did not look for the easy route. He didn't wait to pick on a one-time lucky, vulnerable champion. He didn't fight a beatable opponent to win a vacant belt. For the second time in his 26-fight career, he faced the best light-heavyweight on the planet. His two world title shots have come against the two best light heavyweights of the past decade and two of the hardest-hitting men at 175 lbs in recent history. One thing Yarde can never be accused of is ducking a challenge.

Seeking the best should be a respected approach that always receives due credit, but it can often be a mercilessly cruel one. Since Yarde got stopped in the 11th round by Sergey Kovalev in Russia, he has not had it easy. Yarde rocked Kovalev in the 8th round and appeared to have the Russian on the verge of defeat before Yarde was stopped in the 11th. This performance should have put 'The Beast From The East' on the map. However, in his six fights since, prior to Artur Beterbiev, Yarde had not fought beyond the European level, and no momentum had been gained from that inspired Kovalev defeat.

Perhaps that was a huge, irreversible disadvantage heading into a showdown against the formidable Beterbiev. The Russian is a modern great. Let's give him his flowers now, and not through nostalgic-inspired rose-tinted sunglasses in 10 years. He had over 300 amateur bouts as an amateur. Yarde had 12. Beterbiev then subsequently stopped all 18 professional opponents, and these were solid, world-class opponents. Yarde's career-best win was his redemption against Lyndon Arthur. Arthur is talented, but the gap with Beterbiev was vast.

When facing a pound-for-pound proposition like Beterbiev, the importance of experience cannot be understated. At times during the fight, the difference in amateur pedigree and experience was telling.

However, the great success that Yarde did have against Beterbiev speaks volumes as to his natural talent, along with his pure grit and will. The fight was not the expected destruction. That was simply because Yarde willed himself to take the punishment so many have previously wilted under, to rally when appearing like he is on the verge of defeat on numerous occasions. Every Beterbiev punch hurts. You don't need to be on the receiving end of them to realize that. They just sound different. If pain had a sound, Beterbiev's punches are it. Even the jabs cause damage. The cuts and bruises on Yarde's face at the end of the fight were a reflection of his tremendous bravery.

Against Kovalev, Yarde was out of his depth. Yes, there was a moment when Yarde was on the verge of pulling off the upset, but all in all, the levels were there for all to see. Against Beterbiev, Yarde was on a whole new level. Both men displayed elite-level boxing. Along with his heart and toughness, Yarde threw devastating power punches, which forced Beterbiev to dig deep and show his own reservoirs of heart and will.

Yarde's admirable approach of ignoring interim belts and IBO alphabet belts to make an almighty challenge for Beterbiev's unified titles was a risky one. Yes, if he won, he'd become a unified three-belt light-heavyweight champion and a box office star overnight, but if he lost to this hard-hitting monster and most dangerous of champions emphatically, his days at the upper echelons of the light-heavyweight division, before even properly commencing, would have been over. However, Yarde produced one of those rare performances which raise your stock even in defeat. He became a winner in defeat, much in the same vein as Roberto Duran against Marvelous Marvin Hagler or Deontay Wilder against Tyson Fury. Yarde proved he belongs at the world level with a brilliant display against a pound-for-pound contender.

Now, Yarde's options are aplenty.

This was a grueling war, and the Brit cannot be faulted for having a well-deserved break, then a tune-up once he does return.

There is the fight against London rival Joshua Buatsi, which has always been a potentially mouth-watering domestic dust-up.

The likes of Craig Richards, Dan Azeez, and Shakan Pitters are other British light-heavyweights that can provide exciting domestic match-ups.

Someone like Ricards Bolotniks, a Latvian 2021 opponent of Buatsi's, undoubtedly Buatsi's toughest test to that point, could be a very good and challenging comeback fight, and Yarde could carry on the momentum gained from competing at the elite level with Beterbiev.

Following Saturday's fight, Yarde's promoter, Frank Warren, floated the idea of staging a showdown against former WBO champion Joe Smith Jr.

Although not quite as powerful as Beterbiev (very few men in the light-heavyweight division's history are), Smith is a hard-hitting, come-forward brawler who would provide Yarde with a real test. Smith has the sort of fight-changing power that will give him the belief he could stop Yarde, and Yarde will take confidence when comparing their performances against Kovalev, with Smith being blown away by Beterbiev in two rounds during their unification in June 2022.

To avoid mistakes previously made after Kovalev, Yarde should only engage in world-level fights now. He showed he belonged there against Beterbiev. A fight against Smith, if a victorious one for Yarde, could have him right back in title contention or at least in good stead for when another title shot comes along.

We live in a certain era of boxing now. This is not the Sugar Ray Robinson era, in which Yarde could be fighting 20 times in 2023. An active year will see Yarde fight up to three times, and in today's boxing, aged 31, Yarde and his team should utilize their time. There is no substitute for experience. Facing numerous fighters below his level, back to back, would not be ample preparation for fights at the elite level. Moreover, Yarde happens to be competing in a strong era in the historic light heavyweight division. The champions are the elite of the elite, and the contenders are serious.

At 31, Yarde can challenge for the title again. Beterbiev is 38 and won't be sticking around forever. WBA champion Dmitry Bivol is another monumentally difficult task in trying to acquire a world title at 175 lbs, but Yarde is not a man to avoid challenges.

Yarde's willingness to test himself against the best is what he should be judged on. This is what should be served as an example to follow for all other fighters.

As the great George Foreman said: "Many people fail not so much for their mistakes; they fail because they afraid to try."

(Featured Photo: Top Rank)

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