The Lion and the King – Arthur and Yarde to clash finally
Lyndon Arthur will make the second defence of his Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight championship against Anthony Yarde on Saturday December 5 in another huge night of boxing on BT Sport.
The sizzling showdown between the world ranked pair will be promoted by Frank Warren for Queensberry Promotions and will mark the end of a huge two-week celebration of his 40 year anniversary in professional boxing, which also takes in Daniel Dubois vs Joe Joyce on November 28th.
Arthur (17-0, 12 KOs) won his title in October 2019 outpointing tough Ghanaian Emmanuel Anim, and in his first defence a little under four months ago won clearly on points against Dec Spelman.
‘King Arthur’ said: “What a great fight it is to be involved in.
“Being behind closed doors means there would have been a few stare downs at press conferences by now, but it takes nothing away when we fight.
“A lot of boxing fans are in lockdown, they all have an opinion and they will all tune in to BT Sport. I’m excited knowing that.”
Yarde (20-1, 19 KOs) went one better than his rival against Spelman in September and stopped him the sixth rounder of their non-title contest.
“I could have stopped Spelman if I upped the pressure. I was in first gear and not even blowing,” insisted Manchester man Arthur who is ranked at seven by the WBO and nine by the IBF.
The 29-year-old added: “Yarde has power, but to nullify it I will make sure I am not there to be hit. Everyone can hit hard if you stand in front of them.
“I have power as well and he needs to nullify mine. I’m not worried about his power.
“The two 12 rounders against Anim and Spelman have brought me on leaps and bounds. It’s 24 rounds experience in two 12 rounds fights. You cannot buy that.
“I’ve watched Yarde’s two fights since Kovalev and he hasn’t shown anything different. You get what you see.”
Like the defending champion, Yarde’s world rankings are soaring. The Ilford KO machine is ranked nine by the WBC, at twelve by the IBF and is fifth in the ratings for the vacant WBO championship.
Yarde went to Sergey Kovalev’s Russian back yard in August 2019 and came so close to beating the then WBO World Champion before running out of steam in round 11.
He returned in February and hammered Diego Jair Ramirez inside two rounds before his impressive showing against Spelman.
Yarde, 29, said: "I hope and believe this will deliver a thrilling end to what has been a difficult year for everybody.
“Top domestic fights like this are what boxing fans tell us they want and I am happy to be part of what will be a special night in London – a special place for a special fight.
“From my side, I will be about bringing entertainment for the viewers, spectacular action and a devastating finish. I want to make it a memorable fight that will be remembered for a long time.
“I am totally focused only on this fight and I am treating it just as seriously as I would for a world title. I take every fight seriously and right now I am just working towards getting the job done in the best fashion."
It will also be a night to remember for Warren, as it concludes the two-week celebration of his 40th anniversary of promoting his first ever British Boxing Board of Control show.
The Hall-of-Fame promoter said: “It will be a memorable occasion for me personally, but to promote two world class boxers in the Queensberry stable going against each other is the icing on the cake.
“Anthony and Lyndon agreeing to fight tells you about their confidence levels and how they feel their place is in the pecking order.
“I believe the winner will become the mandatory for the WBO title.
“There are two guarantees. Anthony and Lyndon will deliver excitement and the winner will be in the world title picture in 2021.
“The fight was first scheduled for April. Sadly the pandemic has kept delaying it. Of course I would have loved a packed house, but we couldn’t delay it any further.”
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