Artur Beterbiev: record, next fight and profile →
Anthony Yarde warmed up for January’s world light-heavyweight title fight with Artur Beterbiev as he smashed his way past Stefani Koykov in three rounds in Telford.
Anthony Yarde is not the sort of guy to walk away from a fight, so when he was given a firm date for his shot at Artur Beterbiev, he was not about to call off his scheduled fight with Stefani Koykov, even though he admits he has very little of idea of what he is like.
Anthony Yarde is locked in for his fight before the fight. The WBO light heavyweight mandatory challenger arrived at a chiseled 179.2 pounds for his scheduled ten-round bout with Stefani Koykov on a BT Sport/ESPN+ telecast Saturday evening from Telford International Centre in Telford, England. The visiting Koykov—a 30-year-old Bulgarian based out of Frankfurt, Germany—spread 176.7 pounds over his rock solid frame in hopes of upsetting his opponent’s future plans.
Assuming Anthony Yarde defeats Stefani Koykov on Saturday night in Telford, England, he’ll secure his second light heavyweight title shot.
Callum Smith’s status as the mandatory challenger for Artur Beterbiev’s WBC light heavyweight title was addressed Tuesday during the sanctioning organization’s annual convention.
Dmitry Bivol has long been regarded as one of boxing’s best fighters. The Russian fighter has enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022 after scoring a pair of dominant unanimous decision victories against Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez.
Eddie Hearn isn’t convinced that Dmitry Bivol will get a shot at Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight championship, at least in his next ring outing.
Unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev was supposed to clash against WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde in October, but in August, it was revealed that Beterbiev suffered an undisclosed injury that would delay the fight.
As of late, David Benavidez has grown somewhat discouraged. After years of poking, antagonizing, and goading some of the top names at 168-pounds into fighting him, Benavidez has yet to face one of the elites in the super middleweight division.
WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is more interested in facing Artur Beterbiev in a high-stakes unification than moving forward with a rematch against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.