Anthony Yarde vs. Artur Beterbiev Story on Tape: How the fighters fare ahead of the big world title fight

ANTHONY YARDE is one win away from combined light heavyweight glory in the capital.

All that stands in his way is boxing’s only champion with a 100 percent KO rating.

2

Yarde, 31, challenges Artur Beterbiev, 38, for the Russian’s WBC, IBF and WBO world titles at Wembley Arena on Saturday.

It’s a massive match that brings together two of the sport’s biggest punchers in a true thriller.

Ahead of the expected clash, SunSport collapses as the two big hitters compare.

Beterbiev comes from a well educated amateur background and has become world and European champion.

He competed in the 2012 Olympics but was beaten by currently undefeated heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (36).

In the professional ranks, Beterbiev wasted no time making his mark with 18 KOs in as many fights.

He became IBF Champion in just his 12th fight by defeating Enrico Kolling (32) and has since added two more to his collection.

Along the way he beheaded Oleksandr Gvozdyk (35), Marcus Browne (32) and Joe Smith Jr. (33).

But perhaps Yarde will draw the most confidence in 2018 from Beterbiev’s fourth-round win over Callum Johnson.

The now-retired Brit Johnson had brought down Beterbiev in the second but was unable to continue and was taken out himself.

Yarde has vowed not to miss the same opportunity if it presents itself over the weekend.

And the Londoner should know, having gotten Sergey Kovalev into all sorts of trouble in his 2019 WBO title challenge.

But Yarde failed to knock out 39-year-old Kovalev on lap eight and was stopped himself in the 11th lap.

It was the first time he had faced defeat until Lyndon squeezed out a split decision for Arthur, 31, in 2020.

Although Yarde brutally made up for it in their rematch a year later, ending the show in four rounds.

He returned in a keep-employed fight in November, taking three rounds to get rid of Germany’s Stefani Koykov, 30.

It was Yardes’ 22nd KO in his 23 wins, meaning he has an 88 percent stop rate.

Although even that isn’t enough to match Beterbiev’s unrivaled batting record.

What Yarde has on his side is youth and activity.

Despite Beterbiev’s storied amateur career, he’s only completed 83 rounds in the pros, that’s how strong he is.

And with just 18 fights, Yarde is the more experienced in the paid ranks with 25 fights on paper.

The two are the same height at 6 feet, but Beterbiev has an inch of range advantage at 73 inches long.

It’s a truly enticing affair that almost promises to be decided within the scheduled 12-lap distance.

2