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Eddie Hearn believes Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde is a mismatch.
The Russian is fresh off a knockout victory over Joe Smith Jr. earlier this month. The victory gave Beterbiev three of the four titles at light heavyweight. The last one that isn't held by him is the WBA (Super) crown, held by Dmitry Bivol.
Despite hopes that there will be a 175-pound unification fight later this year, that won't be the case. Following the win over Smith Jr., Beterbiev instantly got a fight booked. He's expected to face Anthony Yarde in the U.K. in October.
For his part, 'The Beast From The East' is fresh off a knockout victory over Lyndon Arthur in December 2021. The win avenged a loss that he suffered against 'King Arthur' a year prior. The victory also earned him a crack at Beterbiev's light-heavyweight titles.
Ahead of the matchup, the champion is a massive favorite. Eddie Hearn seems to think that the betting lines are accurate, as he believes Beterbiev is level ahead of Yarde. On The DAZN Boxing Show, the promoter took aim at the fight, saying:
“A nice guy, from London, that’s a mismatch that fight, a total mismatch. Yarde has done around three rounds in 18 months or whatever, and he’s a good domestic fighter and had a good fight with [Sergey] Kovalev in Russia. Beterbiev is a different animal.”
Watch Eddie Hearn discuss Beterbiev/Yarde below:
Artur Beterbiev interested in fighting Dmitry Bivol
It's hard to blame Eddie Hearn or the public for not being interested in Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde. The champion isn't very excited either, it seems.
Following Beterbiev's knockout of Joe Smith Jr. earlier this month, he spoke about wanting to gain undisputed status. Many fans were hoping that a fight between himself and Dmitry Bivol would come to fruition.
After all, Bivol just scored another massive defense himself. The WBA (Super) light-heavyweight champion defeated Canelo Alvarez via unanimous decision a month ago in Las Vegas.
In the end, fans won't see the fight next, as Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde is reportedly booked. However, prior to that booking, the champion spoke to FightHype about a possible fight between himself and Bivol. He stated:
"I'd prefer to have a unification fight [with Bivol]. I hope it's next, because they always talk about they want to fight, let's go. He always tells that he wants to fight next, but I don't know what he knows about next... If he wants to fight, let's do it."
Watch Beterbiev's interview below:
