Beterbiev

Artur Beterbiev Retains Unified Crown Stopping Valiant Yarde In Eight Round Thriller

Written by Jared Parry on 28th January 2023.

Artur Beterbiev retained his IBF, WBC, and WBO light-heavyweight titles, stopping Anthony Yarde in round eight of their encounter in London.

Beterbiev was given plenty to think about, as Yarde put on the performance of his life, but the champion came through and stopped his challenger in round eight.

A tense opener, as the champion attempted to walk his challenger down, Yarde couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, making sure he wasn’t caught by one of the champion’s powerful shots.

Yarde was having a lot of success with his left hand and stood up to whenever Beterbiev was open to trade. The challenger found himself backed up on occasions but fought fire with fire early on to get out of trouble. However, Beterbiev landed a big shot right at the end of round three.

The champion carried the momentum into round four, momentarily stunning Yarde in the early stages of the round. The Ilford man weathered the storm and rekindled some success with the left hand, however, Beterbiev answered with a strong onslaught.

Round five and Yarde proved he was still in this, landing huge shots and stunning the champion. However, Beterbiev capitalised on a mistake from the challenger, and ended the round strongly after backing him into the corner.

Both men were cut by round seven, as they continued their thrilling battle. Yarde was having success, but Beterbiev capitalised on any opening, as Yarde yet again found himself backed up, however, he once again fought his way out of trouble.

The champion managed to put a final stamp on what had been a great fight in round eight, sending Yarde to the canvas with a huge shot. The challenger made it to his feet, but his trainer, Tunde Ajayi, called the bout off as it was clear that Yarde was not ready to continue, saving his fighter for another day.

Beterbiev now moves to 19-0 and remains the only world champion in boxing to hold a 100% knockout ratio. Yarde will absolutely come again, as he proved that he belongs at world level.