AS revealed as was the performance itself, the look on Anthony Yarde’s face after his defeat to Artur Beterbiev said it all, both in terms of how close he had come and the competitive nature of his thinking.
For despite pushing Beterbiev close, and despite leading two out of three by the time he was stopped in the eighth round, Yarde was clearly not content with just doing well; almost, but not completely. It was instead confidence and belief in his own abilities, and indeed his heroic performance tonight (January 28), Yarde left Wembley Arena feeling both proud for raised his reputation, even when he failed, but was left feeling down because he ended up losing the match. my mission.
That, forget the performance itself, is an example of elite spirit. That, in terms of attitude, perhaps also partly explains why Yarde, despite the difficulties, was able to do with Artur Beterbiev what no one else could do in his professional career. 19 matches of the Russian tennis player.
He said he would, but no one believed him, as is often the case in such matters. After all, Yarde is not only a significantly underdog going into a light-heavyweight title challenger against Beterbiev tonight, but also someone who once lost to a Russian destroyer in 2019, when bravely risked his life. risked to that part of the world only to lose to Sergey Kovalev in 11 rounds. Since that night, Yarde, 23-3 (22), has certainly improved and matured, but nothing on his record, or for that matter in his performances, gives see he has what it takes to tackle, let alone fail, someone in Beterbiev who is considered one of the world’s toughest punchers right now.
However, Yarde remains confident in his abilities and based on the evidence he gave at half-time at Wembley, it wasn’t just pre-match talk. Right from the first round, despite appearing nervous and sometimes frantic, Yarde punched with As a result, Betterbiev remains unafraid to slip into his guise, and even manages to accentuate the Russians’ predictable movements by regularly catching him with a simple check hook. bright.
The pattern then continued into the second inning, although this time Beterbiev moved a little closer to Yarde, as he knew he needed to, and pinned him into the corner at one stage before breaking Yarde with right hand made him dizzy. However, Yarde came back immediately with a solid left hook and his own left butt, re-establishing the balance and stopping Beterbiev, who was not used to his opponent’s return, increase the level of your own fierce attack.
Meanwhile, by half-time, it was clear that Yarde was looking to capitalize on his pace and overpower Beterbiev with left hook counter-attacks and Beterbiev knew the key to Yarde’s harm lay in his ability to trap him in corners.
Of course, the two started working on these respective game plans in the third inning, just as they did in the first and second half, and Beterbiev is now in the more advantageous position. The economy of his punches – always wasting very little – allows him to stay forever in the position of pulling the trigger with maximum power whenever he feels the opportunity has come and especially a short man, assisted Yarde in the third round.
For his part, Yarde realized that the key to keeping the fight going in these times was not to shrink back, as many people often do, but instead to show Beterbiev that he couldn’t simply step in. unhindered and do whatever he wants with Yarde. In other words, every time Beterbiev started the engine and started moving, Yarde would go with him and offer something in return, which was important to win the respect of his opponent.
It is also a reckless and reckless strategy. For every time Yarde reacted in this way, it was obvious that he would leave himself vulnerable to whatever Beterbiev might have thrown at him at once. In fact, this will become evident throughout, never more so in the fifth, arguably best round of the fight.
It was in that round that Yarde inflicted the first dent on his opponent, forcing him back with a heavy right, and then continued to pressurize for much of that round. Suddenly in front of him, Beterbiev appeared reluctant, hesitant and found himself moving a lot, often with his hind legs. There were also more Yarde punches after that: a reverse hook when Beterbiev rushed in; another right to make the crowd rise to their seats.
Then, of course, Beterbiev immediately landed something heavy of his own and the roles were quickly reversed, as is often the case in battle. For example, in this round, Beterbiev cornered Yarde, where he unleashed a number of hammer-like punches, and for a few seconds it seemed like Yarde would never escape; fate ended the fight there, strangled until he stopped. But even then, as Yarde was being shot, he responded admirably, catching Beterbiev with something powerful enough to make him think and make him sag as soon as he started. excited.
That’s not the end of it either. In fact, the fifth inning was so compelling that, in fact, there was still an extra dynamic in it, Yarde once again chased Beterbiev with the intended goal and Beterbiev once again overturned him on the ropes and knocked him down. wing with a monstrous headbutt just before the fifth round. bell.
Needless to say, that fight was as good as in boxing, that round. It also represents the perfect microcosm of the war itself: two men trying as hard as they can, both capable of hurting the other, and both knowing that to give up motivation – or simply taking a step back – effectively waving a white flag.
Beterbiev breaks Yarde with a powerful shot (James Chance/Getty Images)
Knowledge of this, a To share knowledge, made for the brutal next few rounds, is no different than the previous five. By the sixth, both were marked: Yarde was slashed under his right eye; Beterbiev under the left wing. Furthermore, when they touched these wounds with their gloves, both dabbing them lightly, they knew that in order to have a slower round, as the sixth inning proved, it was somehow as dangerous as inciting another round of savagery. After all, unless it’s both sides – that is, unless both have agreed to play a round – there’s always the chance that one person’s patience is another’s chance, especially in a match. battle where one punch can change everything and every punch thrown has the potential to do exactly that.
In the seventh round, with the fight now leaning towards my cards, Yarde started quickly, aiming for Beterbiev’s body as soon as he broke out of his corner. He also displays impressive speed with his jab, a critical punch throughout, and seems to be growing more and more confident, perhaps excited by the fact that he not only lands comfortably in traffic. in which he appears to have taken some shots. Beterbiev’s best in six innings. Banging his chest now, hungry for more, he got it too, swallowed a Beterbiev headbutt as they traded and once again found himself surrounded in a corner that didn’t seem to be. have somewhere to go.
However, as usual, Yarde found a way. He found a way to startle Beterbiev with his own blows – this time a right-handed hit and some bodywork, as well as, a little later, a nasty upper hook – and he has found a way to escape, only to do so when the time has come. right and he can break clean. Again, this left Beterbiev mostly unsatisfied as he returned to his corner before reloading for the eighth round.
Perhaps it was a hallmark of Yarde’s performance tonight that the finish, which actually came in the eighth round, came as a shock even though we already know of his incredible single punch power. Beterbiev and beyond, the grueling nature of the previous seven innings that we’ve seen. On the one hand, it was shocking because Yarde had, up to that point, shown no signs of weakening or retreating and was still very much in the fight; in fact, leading in two out of three scorecards. In addition, Beterbiev’s power is so shocking and damaging that the first thought when it finally makes a breakthrough is no longer a thought related to winning or losing, but rather a thought of more concern. to the health of the man at the receiving end, both in combat and beyond.
It is perhaps for this reason that Tunde Ajayi, Yarde’s compassionate coach, prepared his white scarf when he saw his boxer, whom he had known since he was a boy. , was hit by a Beterbiev punch and found himself rushing towards the canvas in the eighth round. It is also possible that for this reason, Ajayi, despite Yarde’s willingness to move on and referee Steve Gray’s willingness to allow him, took it upon himself to deal with the matter to ensure his boxer would not receive further punishment. .
By then, it was true, he had taken enough. More importantly, however, Yarde had Send full. He gave more than anyone expected him to give and he gave more than anyone before had given Artur Beterbiev, 19-0 (19), in pursuit of both victory and his belt.
Empty now, seemingly for a split second, at the two-minute-one-second mark of the eighth round, Anthony Yarde’s second brave title challenge will finally come to an end. In many ways, however, it was at that point that the 31-year-old Londoner’s legal, world-class, legal, world-class light-heavyweight career really began.
War Wounds: Yarde suffered greatly against Beterbiev (James Chance/Getty Images)
