Fury and Ngannou face off
Sep 8Anthony Yarde's date with destiny at Wembley Arena against unified light-heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev is confirmed after the east Londoner knocked out Stefani Koykov in the third round on Saturday in Telford.
Having not fought since last December - when he avenged his avenged his agonising 2020 loss to Lyndon Arthur - Yarde easily outclassed his Bulgarian opponent, with a flurry of shots seeing Koykov drop to the canvas and failing to beat the referee's count.
Looking ahead to what is set to be a mouthwatering contest on Saturday 28 January, Yarde said: "January 28 will be my night.
"My destiny playing out in my home city, and this is what I have been longing for throughout my professional career, which started at Wembley.
"I won't make any big predictions for this fight against a strong unified champion in Artur Beterbiev, but what I will say is that I will leave nothing to chance, and I am at my best when I fight fire with fire."
Unbeaten Beterbiev, who added the WBO to his WBC and IBF belts when stopping Joe Smith Jr. in June, is naturally confident about his chances and hit out at his upcoming opponent.
"I never back down from a challenge, and Anthony Yarde is a top contender who asked for this fight. I look forward to fighting in London for the first time since the Olympics.
"Yarde called me ‘slow’ after my fight with Joe Smith Jr., but slow and steady wins the race. And on January 28, I will win in London."
It is the second time Yarde will be contesting a world-title fight, after being TKOed by Sergey Kovalev for the WBO belt back in August 2019.
Yarde's promoter, Frank Warren, is hoping his man can right those wrongs.
"This will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge of Anthony's career to date, and we have made sure he will get the best conditions possible by securing him home advantage.
"It is going to be a huge occasion at the OVO Arena Wembley, which is the same venue where Anthony made his professional debut in May 2015.
"Of course, we know a great champion like Beterbiev has no fears of travelling and virtually all of his biggest wins have come outside his now home nation of Canada.
"Boxing is all about timing, and we are hoping the time is right for Anthony to fulfil his huge potential and pull off what would be one of the biggest wins by a British fighter.
"This is going to be a spectacular show, and I am sure it is an event the public will get behind in massive numbers to support Anthony's attempt to achieve his dream."
Tickets for Beterbiev vs Yarde at The O2 on Saturday 28 January 2023 go on general sale at 11am on Thursday 24 November from AXS.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.
