The boxing world will stand up and pay attention to the light heavyweight division as Artur Beterbiev defends his undisputed WBC, WBO and IBF titles against England's Anthony Yarde.
The Russian-Canadian champion will travel to enemy territory to defend his crowns as he takes on hometown hero Yarde at Wembley Arena in London, England, with Yarde looking to become champion in his second attempt in his career.
We'll take a look at the fight, break it down as best we can and provide you with our best free boxing picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash for the holiday season.
Artur Beterbiev vs Anthony Yarde information
- Saturday, January 28th, 2023
- Wembley Arena, London, England
- 17:00 ET ring-walk time
- WBC, WBO and IBF Light heavyweight championships
- 12 x 3 minute rounds
Artur Beterbiev vs Anthony Yarde odds
This fight is sure to be an entertaining match up, but the bookmakers believe this one will be only going one way as the champ comes in as a super heavy favorite.
Beterbiev opened as the heavy favorite in this bout and has remained so throughout, with his status as one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world already cemented.
The Russian is 18-0 professionally throughout his career, with every win ending via knockout in his favor. His last three bouts have seen him stop Adam Deines in the 10th round, Marcus Browne in the 9th round and then completely destroy Joe Smith Jr in the second round in his last outing.
At best price -1000 you would have to bet $1000 to see a return of $100 if you believe he can keep his unbeaten record going in London.
He'll be coming up against a spectacular knockout artist himself in Yarde, who has won each of his last three fights to set up this title shot.
Yarde has a professional record of 23-2 with his only career defeats coming via a stoppage in his first title shot against Sergey Kovalev in Russia back in August 2019, and then in a controversial split decision to Lyndon Arthur in December 2020. Since then he has KO'd Alex Theran, got revenge on Arthur with a 4th round KO and then defeated Stefani Koykov most recently.
At best price +700, you can win $700 from a $100 bet if you believe he will put an end to the dominance of Beterbiev's reign in the light heavyweight division.
Check out the best bonuses available with our top bookmakers here.
Artur Beterbiev vs Anthony Yarde preview
Yarde’s best chance of upsetting the odds here against Beterbiev is by being aggressive in the early rounds and attacking the Chechen’s body, and then going for a big KO.
The Brit has got explosive power, but he also has excellent fundamentals when it comes to his jab, footwork and defensive abilities which makes him a good test for the Russian.
The benefit Beterbiev has here is that’s essentially what we experienced in his last fight against Joe Smith and Beterbiev proved he can match that ferocity and finish his opponents in the early rounds.
The thought process dictates that the British fighter cannot trade power and body shots with Beterbiev. He has more boxing experience and can maintain range well enough to avoid Yarde's best, but being in London he will have to engage often.
When it comes to a big striking battle this is the Russian's fight to lose, but technically they're closer than many people believe and Yarde can hold his own when it comes to counters and defensive standing.
With a home advantage Yarde will be hopeful of keeping it competitive, knowing that if he makes it to the judges he will have a great chance having already got further than anyone else ever has, but Beterbiev will know that and will surely be more aggressive and look to turn it ugly.
If he's successful in testing the ego of Yarde and getting him to exchange with him in close, then he will be confident of finding the finish.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Boxing picks: Beterbiev to dominate
In the three fights before the second-round demolition of Joe Smith Jr against Marcus Browne, Adam Deines and Oleksandr Gvozdyk all took Beterbiev past the ninth round, so I would expect Yarde to do that too.
Yarde boxes intelligently and will look to counter Beterbiev behind his guard regularly, as opposed to engaging in a risky shootout. For me, a firefight with Beterbiev will only ever see one winner and that is the Russian.
If they do engage in a firefight then there is every chance that Yarde scores the knockdown because his power is fantastic, but Beterbiev has been put down before and come back from it, albeit not against an opponent of the calibre of Yarde.
It would be great to see Yarde reach the championship rounds in what should be an incredibly entertaining fight, but I do believe that Beterbiev wins by knockout at some point.
Considering how the fight with Kovalev went where Yarde was exhausted by the ninth round, don't be surprised to see Beterbiev keep a bit in reserve until the latter rounds and then really pour it on to get the late finish.
Boxing picks: Artur Beterbiev to win via KO/TKO @ -350
Boxing picks: Artur Beterbiev to win between Round 7-12 @ +240
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