Artur Beterbiev stopped Anthony Yarde in the eighth round of a proper championship slugfest today in London, retaining his WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles and keeping his 19-fight stoppage streak alive.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:08 of round eight. Yarde had been down just before, got back to his feet, and his corner stopped the fight when Beterbiev pounced for the follow-up flurry.
Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KO) got a stern test from Yarde (23-3, 22 KO), who absolutely looked better than he ever has, giving the veteran destroyer plenty to think about with his movement, hand speed, and plenty of his own power.
But in the end it was the savvy and craft of Beterbiev — along with his crushing, still inevitable power — that saw him through and set him up, potentially, for an undisputed championship fight this year with Dmitry Bivol. That’s no guarantee, but it remains on the table now with Beterbiev retaining again.
However you look at this outcome, it was a great fight, and both of these guys have plenty to be proud of with their performances. Yarde loses nothing reputation-wise; if anything, he gains and solidifies himself as a real light heavyweight contender. And Beterbiev marches on as he has throughout his pro career, still a Terminator-like presence in the sport at age 38.
