By Shaun Brown
Anthony Yarde’s progression is a source of much debate and frustration among many a British boxing fan. Trained by Tunde Ajayi and promoted by Frank Warren the Yarde team are doing things their own way, at their own pace and will strike when the moment is right. That strike refers to a world title shot which the WBO number two contender stands not a million miles away from.
Yarde, (16-0, 15 KOs), has carved out a reputation for himself based on power, physique and a fighting IQ that has made him look, at times, a million dollars against the opposition he has faced to date. And therein lies the problem for those on the outside looking in.
That familiar question of ‘Who has he fought?’ resurfaces at the very mention of Yarde’s name. Is he all bark and no bite? Is he being protected? Or is he being shrewdly promoted by a man who has done it many times before leading many to world title glory…when the moment was right.
A late starter to boxing and a man of very limited amateur experience (12 fights) Yarde and co. have talked the talk and are being urged to back it up against men who are not called Dariusz Sek or Tony Averlant. But, as Boxing Scene put it to Yarde: Are the expectations from fans too high because of the impression he has made on the pro game to date?
“I think so, definitely, and in my opinion some people might see it a different way, but in my opinion that’s a good thing because that means I’m doing something right,” said Yarde.
“I’m doing well and it’s making people eager and excited to see me fight certain people already. If I wasn’t looking good in my fights, or I looked like a novice, then people would be like ‘Don’t rush him, it’s too early’, but because I am looking good they’re saying, ‘He’s ready for that level’. So that for me is a good thing. So that’s why I’ve got to keep it going. There are people that say negative things, people that are saying ‘He hasn’t got no stamina, he hasn’t got a chin’ but I’m not focusing on them.”
“But that’s life,” ‘Scene chipped in with.
“Exactly. In life you’re always going to get them people, the naysayers talking negative so I’m one of them people looking at the positives and the positives are for the level I’m at now people are expecting more of me which is good, because that means I’m doing something right.”
Yarde’s next adversary has yet to be confirmed, his return pencilled in for some time in October or November. Will it be a significant step up? Who knows, but Yarde, Ajayi and Warren will match their man with who they best believe suits him for his 17th fight and his development. They are waiting for an opening, the right time, a gap in the market perhaps.
Yarde, along with his trainer, was on something of a scouting mission in Atlantic City recently to take in Sergey Kovalev’s second defence, in his second reign, of his WBO light heavyweight title. The once fearsome Russian threw hands down with Colombian Eleider Alvarez with many hoping Kovalev would win, leading to a unification against WBA titlist Dmitry Bivol. The 35-year-old champion showed visible signs of having slowed down but still appeared to be in control for large parts of the fight. Alvarez’, with a cut to his left cheek, put Kovalev down three times in the seventh round rubber stamping the damage which
Andre Ward had already inflicted on him. ‘Krusher’, once a force of nature of 175lbs, was defeated for the third time in his last five fights.
“The Alvarez and Kovalev fight, for me, was so entertaining,” said Yarde when talking about his trip Stateside which included training alongside former two-weight world champion Danny Garcia.
“Tunde kept saying to me ‘Don’t be surprised if Kovalev gets knocked out in this fight’. I was like ‘Who’s the guy he’s fighting?’ because I didn’t know who the guy was. And he was like ‘It’s a guy that quite a lot of people have avoided, and his record don’t say he’s a puncher, but he can punch’. When Kovalev got knocked out Tunde said ‘See, see this is boxing’. He kept saying ‘This is boxing’. I did think Kovalev was winning before he got knocked out but at the same time it was a competitive fight.”
And should the rematch happen does Yarde expect the same result once again?
“Gut instinct I would say no but Kovalev is getting older. Obviously, Alvarez is not the same fighter as Andre Ward but that second fight…. it’s like something was taken away from him. That was a bad knockout (against Alvarez). It might be an adverse effect that he’s so wary of getting caught again he might underperform and get caught again having lost concentration.”
Just like Kovalev, and the likes of Gennady Golovkin and Oleksandr Usyk – men who have dominated their divisions at one point – Yarde isn’t interested in getting just one slice of the world title cake when the moment arrives. Success, with the WBO title, for example, he believes would kick off a long reign of him as champion before moving in for the three other titles to make him king of the light heavyweights. A big ask in a division known for skill and savagery.
A familiar noise from the Yarde camp is that ‘If it were up to him he would have fought one of the world champions by now’. His confidence, like any other fighter will tell you, is that they will go in the ring and beat anyone. Is it justified? Maybe not but we’re never going to hear anything different. But it’s that confidence, that swagger and his words that will assist him in being heard before he is seen. You may not believe in him, but you do know he is and that may, in the next 12 months, result in an echo throughout the division.
“One thing I’ve learned about boxing is it can take just one fight…. the position I’m in now it could be one fight then the next fight a world title shot. I’ll be honest with you, I never thought in my first three years I’d be in that land that is looking at a world title. I’m one of them people I’ve got to keep working hard. I understand and realise the position I’m in so that’s motivating me to work even harder because it might come sooner than later.
“This time next year I will hold a world title or be aiming to be a world champion. I believe in not just becoming a world champion but staying there and having a fantastic career. Not just a hit and hope. I think those kinds of things come from people that are not confident within themselves. There’s no need for me to rush. At the right time where I feel good and my whole team feel good, and it feels natural, we’ll go for a world title shot and I believe I’ll win and from that position I feel like I’m going to be there long term.”
Right now we are not going to see Yarde in a delicious British 175bs battle against Eddie Hearn promoted Joshua Buatsi, and we might not see the team throw a roll of the dice in his next fight against someone like Sullivan Barrera, Joe Smith or Marcus Browne but when the timing is right – as was the case with the likes of Joe Calzaghe (in 1997) and Ricky Hatton (in 2005), just two examples of many, under Warren’s promotional banner Yarde will be in the thick of things and will be presented with an ideal opportunity to win a world title. It’s how boxing works for some. Seize the day, continue to learn while holding a title and push yourself to the limit, and when every box is ticked knock on the door of the elite that will ensure you become a legend or just another world champion.
Who knows, part one of that operation may come in the form of fighting Sergey Kovalev – who became world champion on British shores five years ago – should he avenge his loss to Alvarez. A then 36-year-old Kovalev (in 2019), who has fought hard and played hard, could be Yarde’s golden ticket.
Timing is everything in boxing.
Twitter @sbrown2pt0
