beast from the east

AnthonyYarde

"The Beast From The East"

Former World Championship Challenger

Known as The Beast from the East (of London), Anthony Yarde has captured the imagination of the fight public since the early days of his professional career, which began back in 2015.

Explosive, charismatic and highly entertaining, knockouts were the currency Yarde has traded in since Mitch Mitchell provided the opposition for his debut at Wembley Arena. Six of his first 10 fights ended in the first round and three in just the second.

Yarde quickly transported himself into title contention ultimately into a world level operator, who has always appeared destined to become a world champion.

WINS
26
LOSES
3
DRAW
0
kOs
24

WEIGHT
179 lbs
(54 Kg)
HEIGHT
6’0”
(183 cm)
REACH
72"
(183 cm)

Trainer

Tunde Ajayi
Born

13 August 1991
Born in

London, UK
nation

British
residence

Essex, UK
KO Percentage

88.89%
Stance

Orthodox
Rounds

113
Debut

9 May 2015

Records and Accolades

From winning the Southern Area, Yarde went on to capture the WBO European title in his next fight. The Hungarian champion, Richard Baranyi, was unable to de-rail the Yarde express and referee Jeff Hinds spared him further punishment by stopping the contest nine seconds before the end of the first round, with Baranyi having been dispatched to the canvas.

Norbert Nemesapati fared a little better two months later when the WBO Intercontinental title was added to the prize list. Another Hungarian, Nemesapati, was floored twice in the second round before calling it a night at the end of the third.

Being too good for his own good has been a theme since Yarde's entry into the sport of boxing. The fact that his amateur experience - just 12 fights - is so limited is down to the fact that matching him became problematic.

The seasoned and previously not stopped Nikola Sjekloca was drafted in with the idea of providing Yarde was some valuable ring time in September of 2017, with both WBO title belts at stake.

Sjekloca, who had drawn with European champion Robert Stieglitz in his previous encounter, also had close run affairs with the likes of Tyron Zeuge and Sakio Bika on his ledger, but his durability diminished against the London light heavy.

Sjekloca was down in the second and again in the fourth before being stopped by referee Steve Gray with over a minute left in the fourth round.

The Frenchman Tony Averlant proved to be stubborn as Yarde opted to take his time at York Hall in February 2018. The 34-year-old lasted until the seventh round, despite hitting the canvas twice in the sixth.

Yarde added another string to his bow in June when he tackled a his first southpaw opposition in the shape of the Pole Dariusz Sek, who came into the contest with a creditable 27-3-3 ledger, having previously taken on the likes of Robin Krasniqi and never having been stopped. That distinction was lost at the 02 Arena when, having been put to the canvas in round one, he found himself on the end of calculating attacks from Yarde before having his evening ended in the seventh round.

Yarde made a further defence of his WBO Intercontinental belt against Walter Gabriel Sequeira at the Brentwood Centre in October 2018, where the tough man from Buenos Aires was stopped in four, before, in March of the following year, confident American Travis Reeves was dismantled in the fifth round and the same title was comfortably retained.

Achievements

Yarde has been heavily invested in the collection of belts business since winning the Southern Area strap in his 11th fight as a pro.

Just seven fights later and the charismatic light heavy was off to Russia to take on the formidable champion Sergey Kovalev. He was a matter of seconds away from stopping Kovalev in round eight before the timely intervention of the bell saved the home fighter.

Ultimately, Yarde ran out of steam and was stopped in the 11th, but gave a good account of himself and showed he would remain a force in the division.

Major Achievements and Titles

Yarde won widespread admiration with a stirring challenge against the unified and unbeaten world light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev at the end of January 2023. Yarde traded blow for blow with the fearsome knockout artist and was very much on an equal footing until Beterbiev landed a telling blow in the eighth round and Yarde's corner decided they had seen enough and their man had little more to give.

His stock, however, remained on the up and becoming a world champion is still a very real prospect.

Fighting Style & Techniques

Swashbuckling is probably the word best used to describe the fighting style of Yarde. Combustable is another. Yarde is patient, but is is ticking time bomb, just waiting for his moment to unleash a ambush of power punching.

Unique Style and Approach

As most people will have seen from his pad routines with trainer Tunde Ajayi, Yarde is about precision and timing, as well as his obvious power. Ajayi is a student of the Mayweather School of accurate hand speed and he brings some of this to the fore in fights.

Yarde will win rounds with quickfire touches while he seeks to create openings for the big bombs and he often employs a sideways stance to avoid any return fire.

His most recent fight against Lyndon Arthur, which completed a trilogy sequence between the pair, saw Yarde unusually get up close to his opponent and win the hard way via unanimous decision.

Impact on Boxing and Popularity

Yarde’s explosiveness, personality and his world title contention has only served to reinforce his position as the best and most recognisable light heavyweight in Great Britain.

He is relatable, he hails from the streets of Stratford and has thrived in the sporting stratosphere. Boxing’s gain was the loss of rugby, athletics and football, all sports in which he excelled and attempted to secure his talents.

Yarde is living proof that you do not have to be an Olympian or storied amateur star to make it big in boxing. He started off pretty much from scratch when he turned professional and showed that hard graft pays off.

He knows how to grab attention and inspire himself and those around him. ‘Lions in the Camp’ is more than just a motto to Team Yarde. It is a way of life and a way of doing things.

Future Prospects and Upcoming Fights

Yarde is now back in the thick of the light heavyweight elite, having won his trilogy sequence against Manchester rival Lyndon Arthur.

With Dmitrii Bivol and Artur Beterbiev otherwise engaged at the moment and Bivol holding all the belts, the options for Yarde are the obvious ones. Big domestic showdowns that the public want to see.

Yarde and his promoter Frank Warren have made no secret of the fact that they want a the Joshua Buatsi fight, while Callum Smith could be another option after his success against the Londoner. Outsiders at this stage would be fights against promotional teammates Willy Hutchinson or Ezra Taylor.

Fighting History

Win

12 Round ud

Wembley Arena, London, UK

9 may 2015

beast from the east

AnthonyYarde

"The Beast From The East"

Former World Championship Challenger

Records and Accolades

Achievements

Major Achievements and Titles

Fighting Style & Techniques

Unique Style and Approach

Impact on Boxing and Popularity

Future Prospects and Upcoming Fights

Fighting History

Lyndon Arthur

Ralfs Vilcans

Marko Nikolic

Jorge Silva

Artur Beterbiev

Stefani Koykov

Lyndon Arthur

Alex Theran

Lyndon Arthur

Dec Spelman

Diego Jair Ramirez

Sergey Kovalev

Travis Reeves

Walter Gabriel Sequeira

Dariusz Sek

Tony Averlant

Nikola Sjekloca

Norbert Nemesapati

Richard Baranyi

Chris Hobbs

Darren Snow

Ferenc Albert

Rayford Johnson

Grzegorz Semik

Tsvetozar Iliev

David Sipos

Curtis Gargano

Tamas Danko

Stanislavs Makarenko

Mitch Mitchell

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