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Artur Beterbiev believes he's improved his hand speed in preparation for his title defense of his IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight crowns against Anthony Yarde on January 28th at the OVO Arena in London, England.
Many boxing experts believe Yarde has no chance of winning unless the 37-year-old Beterbiev has aged dramatically since his last bout in June against WBO 175-pound champion Joe Smith Jr. Yarde will not last more than two rounds if that version of Beterbiev shows up on January 28th since he is not even on the level of Smith Jr, who was knocked out in the second round of that bout.
Yarde (23-2, 22 KOs), who has exceptional hand speed, criticized the undefeated Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs), stating that his punches are slow and that he believes he can profit on this when they face on BT Sport on January 28th in their main event. Given that boxing fans haven't seen Yarde compete against an elite-level opponent since a faded 36-year-old Sergey Kovalev knocked him out in 2019, it's tough to predict whether he'll beat Beterbiev.
Yarde, 31, has won five of his past six fights since his loss to Kovalev, but the opposition has been average fighters rather than world-class opponents.
“Yes, you will see on the 28th of January,” said Artur Beterbiev to Queensberry Promotions when asked if his hand speed has improved during training camp for his title defense against Anthony Yarde on January 28th.”Yes, mind and working on it.
“He’s a good fighter with experience in , but as far as details, I never give you details. What I see and what I’m working on,” said Beterbiev about Yarde. “Any boxer is strong. Any boxer is dangerous. It’s a real fight and I’m preparing 100% to be ready 100%. He’s preparing, and it’s going to be a good fight.