FIGHT WEEK
175-pound unified belt holder Artur Beterbiev will defend his belt and look for 19order knockout in multiple games against Anthony Yarde on Saturday in London (ESPN+).
ARTUR BETERBIEV (18-0, 18 KOS) VS. ANTHONY YARDE (23-2, 22 KOS)
- When: Saturday, January 28
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event follows)
- Where: London
- television/stream: GAME +
- Assignment: Light (175 pounds)
- threatened: Beterbiev . IBF, WBC and WBO titles
- Pound-for-pound ratings: Beterbiev No. 12
- the odds: Beterbiev 7-1 favorite (multi-store average)
- Also on the card: Artem Dalakian vs David Jimenez, flyweight (for Dalakian’s WBA belt); Willy Hutchinson vs. Emil Markic, lightweight; Karol Itauma vs Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna, lightweight
- Guess: Betterbiev KO 8
- Story: Beterbiev and Yarde took down a total of 40 of their 41 victims, a clear sign that both men had extraordinary strength. The problem for Yarde may have been that Beterbiev was blocking outcry at a higher level. The 38-year-old Russian won his first title against Enrico Koelling in 2017 and has added two more belts since, all in just seven matches. The two-time Olympic champion is about to enter the second round knockout Joe Smith Jr. in a title unification match last June. Yarde, a 31-year-old Londoner, was crossed over the box and then stopped by then belt holder Serge Kovalev in his first title match in 2019. He has won 6-1 since. That included a nasty split decision defeat to Lyndon Arthur in 2020. He avenged that loss by stopping Arthur for four innings in their rematch the following year. He followed that up with another Stefani Koykov save last November, his most recent game. The Battle of Beterbiev-Yarde was originally scheduled for October but was postponed because the champion was injured.
ALEXIS ROCHA (21-1, 13 KOS) VS. ANTHONY YOUNG (24-2, 8 KOS)
- When: Saturday, January 28
- Time: 8pm ET / 5pm PT (main event after that)
- Where: YouTube Theatre, Inglewood, California
- television/stream: DAZN
- Assignment: Middleweight (147 pounds)
- threatened: No main title
- Pound-for-pound ratings: Not available
- the odds: ARE NOT
- Also on the card: Floyd Schofield versus Alberto Mercado, lightweight; Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Daniel Terry, super middleweight; Oscar Collazo vs Yudel Reyes, strawweight
- Guess: University of Rocha
- Story: Rocha has won 5 straight games since he lost to Rashidi Ellis in a unanimous decision in 2020, a record that lifted the rankings of two of the four main sanctioning bodies. He’s the WBO’s #3 candidate, just behind owners Terence Crawford, Vergil Ortiz and Keith Thurman. The 25-year-old boxer from Orange County, California, was about to make the decision to nearly end his fight with Jesus Antonio Perez Campos last October. Young is a 34-year-old from Atlantic City, New Jersey, whose only notable win – and only scheduled 10th round – was a third-round knockout over former owner Sadam Ali on 2019. Ali has not played since. Young has won his last 13 games, including a unanimous decision against Jose Zaragoza in an eighth inning in October.
FIGHT THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY
- Cesar Francis versus Jesus Sarocho, junior weight class, Plant City, Florida (ProBox).
FRIDAY
- Serhii Bohachuk vs Nathaniel Gallimore, middleweight, Montebello, California (UFC Fight Pass).
