Beterbiev vs Yarde: A Mismatch?

A huge fight this weekend in the light-heavyweight division. Beterbiev vs Yarde for the WBO, WBC & IBF world titles. A fiery fight, not a mismatch though despite the common consensus.

Beterbiev (18-0-0) 18 KO’s vs Yarde (23-0-2) 22 KO’s is guaranteed fireworks. Two physical specimens, huge power punchers with lots of knockouts on their record and both forward fighting boxers. A lot people aren’t giving Yarde a chance in this fight, they think it’s a total mismatch but it’s not at all. This is a great match-up and will be an interesting showing this weekend. Two styles that clash indefinitely.

Yarde can win this fight, sure. A big factor for me is timing and counterpunching. Yarde is a typical pressure fighter and he likes to come forward but for this fight he needs to be able to adjust and walk Beterbiev onto punches when he’s being backed up. Beterbiev is hittable, and he’s most vulnerable when he’s coming forward, during exchanges he positions his hands around chest level so he’s able to throw those power punches. If Yarde can’t find a way to be effective on the back-foot he’ll struggle in this fight.

Beterbiev has a tendency to fall into shots when he is walking his opponents down, when he throws his right hand he will perform a switch step where he follows through with his back foot forward to finish in a southpaw stance. If Yarde can take his head off the centre line and catch him with an overhand as he’s stepping in then he definitely has the power to put Beterbiev out. Timing is everything. Betervbiev does similar with the jab sometimes, he jumps into the shot often taking both feet off the ground. If Yarde can catch him coming in with that forward momentum and both feet in the air he has a chance at hurting him.

Anthony Yarde also needs to create angles, his footwork when on the back-foot is often very sloppy as he moves out of range in straight lines. An aggressive fighter like Beterbiev will just continue to chase you down if you don’t create a new angle. Above all else Yarde CANNOT let himself get pinned against the ropes, his footwork needs to be immaculate to win this fight. Beterbiev does his best work when he has fighters pinned against the ropes. He has great combination punches and sets them up well.

Yarde has holes in his game, every fighter does. One thing Beterviev can take advantage of is Yarde’s left hooks. He tends to throw looping left hooks from a philly shell stance when he becomes fatuiged as it means he can fight with his left hand low. Beterbiev can counter these with a right hand or a stiff lead hand jab similarly to how Kovalev did for the KO in their fight.

Yarde’s best chance is when he’s fresh, the first half of the fight. Once it gets into the latter stages in rounds 8-12, his defence gets sloppy and his punches lose that sharpness. We’ve seen it before and if it comes down to a battle of who’s got the best gas tank then Beterbiev wins that battle for sure.

I do see Beterbiev winning with a mid to late stoppage. Yarde will be dangerous early and he’ll come to fight. He always comes with that lion mentality; I wouldn’t be surprised to see both men going down. I see it ending similar to how the Kovalev fight went, Yarde tiring late on and Beterbiev getting a TKO. Yarde is a great competitor, but I think Beterbiev’s ruthlessness and power will top anything Yarde has to offer. If Beterbiev does win then that sets up a unification bout with who some believe is the best light-heavyweight boxer on the planet, Dmitry Bivol. Then we get to find out who really is number one.