AS far as curious ongoing boxing careers go in the United Kingdom, Anthony Yarde, 26-3 (24 KOs), has a strong case for sitting at the top of the tree. The Londoner has twice made a monumental jump up in levels to fight elite world champions and returned in one-sided matchups after falling short.
However, the lone exception in the unorthodox career of Yarde has been fellow Brit Lyndon Arthur, 24-2, (16 KOs), with the scores currently tied at 1-1 between the two world title hopefuls ahead of Saturday’s trilogy clash – which will thrust the victor into the world title picture once again.
Yarde stepped up to challenge Sergey Kovalev for the WBO light-heavyweight title in Russia back in 2019. Still, despite a spirited effort, the Londoner was stopped after 11 rounds of action, returning home as a more appreciated contender regardless of the defeat.
Yet, the credit he received for his battle with Kovalev only made a 2020 defeat to Arthur more surprising, as the much-lauded jab of the Mancunian proved difficult to negate and carried Arthur to a shock split-decision win.
The rematch proved a different story, as Yarde blew away his underwhelming rival with a knockout win after just four rounds, in a below-par display from Arthur that left fans puzzled.
Since then, both men have lost just once. They did so in separate world title challenges. Yarde was stopped by Artur Beterbiev and Arthur was schooled by Dmitry Bivol in 2023.
Continuing their similar paths, both Yarde and Arthur will come into Saturday’s fight off the back of poor performances, with Yarde going the distance with lesser-known Latvian Ralfs Vilcans and Arthur scraping a controversial split decision against Liam Cameron in their most recent outings.
Now, Yarde and Arthur will collide for a third time, in a trilogy bout that does not appear to have particularly whet the appetite of the masses but does provide a decent measuring stick to determine where both men are at in their careers and how either man could fare against those sat at the top table in the 175lb division.
Despite each man boasting a win over the other, Yarde, who will intriguingly step through the ropes as the biggest betting favourite on the main card at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Saturday, as he hopes to tee up an eventual third challenge for world honours and end his domestic rivalry in style.
Anthony Yarde vs. Lyndon Arthur III Fight Prediction
BN Online believes that Arthur is rightfully the underdog, but not to the extent that the bookmakers suggest. Should he withstand the assumed early onslaught from his old foe, there is every chance that Arthur could use his superior gas tank and box his way to another decision win.
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