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Mike CoppingerESPN
The rescheduled unified light heavyweight championship fight between Artur Beterbiev and Anthony Yarde is being planned for Jan. 28 in London, promoter Frank Warren told IFL TV on Monday.
First, Yarde must emerge victorious — and uninjured — from a Nov. 19 tuneup bout in the U.K. against an opponent to be determined.
Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) was slated to defend his three 175-pound titles against Yarde on Oct. 29 before the Russian underwent right knee surgery.
The procedure was performed after Beterbiev’s second-round TKO of Joe Smith Jr., which added a third title to his collection.
“I am delighted to be getting Anthony Yarde out in a keep-busy fight ahead of his world title challenge in January,” Warren said last week. “There is always the temptation to simply play the waiting game, but, with Artur Beterbiev not currently available due to injury, Anthony needs some time in the ring.”
Beterbiev, a 37-year-old Russian Canadian, is boxing’s only champion with a stoppage victory in every professional fight. Beterbiev is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 175 pounds and No. 7 pound-for-pound.
Yarde (22-2, 21 KOs) scored a fourth-round KO of Lyndon Arthur in a December rematch that avenged a 2020 defeat and earned him a mandatory title shot.
The 31-year-old from London suffered an 11th-round TKO against Sergey Kovalev in 2019, his lone title challenge.