By: Hans Themistode
The showdown between WBO Light Heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev and three division champion Canelo Alvarez is sure to be a good one. That contest will take place sometime in either November or December in Las Vegas, Nevada of this year.
It’s a contest that is sure to be a fight of the year candidate.
A can’t miss fight.
An all action scrap.
These are the headlines that have flooded the internet over the past few weeks.
Everyone seems to have forgotten about Anthony Yarde (18-0, 17 Kos). The unbeaten British born fighter who Kovalev must defeat, in his hometown of Russia.
Yarde has been dismissed by many, if not all. It’s for good reason. Up to this point, Yarde has faced no one even remotely close to the level he will be facing on Saturday night. It will be a huge step up for Yarde. Standing across the ring from the WBO Light Heavyweight champion will be unlike no other challenge he has ever faced.
To the credit of Yarde, he has looked good in his 18 professional bouts. Some would even say great. However, going from bottom tier to the upper echelon of the division is not an ideal situation.
It isn’t just the fans and media alike that have given Yarde no chance in this contest, but so has his contemporaries.
Former pound for pound star and Sergey Kovalev conquerer Andre Ward, believes that Yarde possesses the skill but ultimately will fall in his quest to become a world champion.
“I see him stopping Yarde late,” said Ward. “Yarde hasn’t showed up until this point that he can handle a guy like Kovalev.”
Yarde has heard all of his naysayers and critics but his confidence has not waned in the slightest.
“I’m just focused on myself. Be the best I can be and get the knockout victory,” said Yarde.
The ability to stop his opponents has been well established throughout his career as he currently holds a 94 percent knockout ratio. Kovalev, in his three career losses, has been stopped in two of them. So what does this mean exactly?
Yarde has a blueprint in which he can follow in order to get the job done.
Still, even with his impressive physique and under rated boxing skills. Yarde isn’t expected to do much of anything.
Rumors of the contract between Kovalev and Canelo have already been signed. The only thing left is the dispatching of Yarde.
Britains, Yarde has a chance to upset the applecart. A win for him would flip the boxing world on its head, but no one wants that. Canelo vs Kovalev is a mouth watering matchup. One that everyone wants to see.
One final test for Kovalev remains. Yarde.
For those who have fantasized about Sergey Kovalev taking on Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez may never see that contest come to fruition.
Anthony Yarde has more than enough skill to put an end to that dream, once and for all.
