Yarde isn't known for his confidence and bravery either. I mean, he couldn't have been more timid against Arthur after that beating Kovalev laid on him. He practically gifted that match to Lyndon. It was one of the most ball less performances I've seen in recent years, but at least he rectified that to a degree in the rematch. However with Smith, when has a loss ever dented his confidence? He usually comes back twice as hard.
Yarde is the more slick boxer. Smith is a grinder type boxer, only good at beating very methodical boxers, put him up against a boxer who pulls the trigger often and i think he folds.
If Smith exchanges too close, maybe Yarde can land something because Smith has overly long arms. That seemed to be a problem against Beterbiev. But the moment Smith lands his first clubbing RH, Yarde is out cold, maybe even stylin' through the ropes like Hopkins.
It's a better fight than either vs Beterbiev (though I thought Smith vs Beterbiev was gonna be awesome before it happened).
Yep, methodical guys like Bernard Hopkins, Eleider Alvarez, Vlasov and Hart, all four of whom would probably beat Yarde. He's been outboxed twice, once due to a broken jaw, which made him skittish, the other by Bivol..... and most are. Oh yeah, one other thing..... Yarde IS NOT SLICK.
Smith by KO. Yarde is really easy to hit and isn’t that slick. Smith has devastating power and would land the lights out punch in the first 8 rounds.
Its hard to pick Yarde against any top level opponent, his "experience gaining fights" were against the lowest possible level of opposition, and as far as I'm aware, he still doesn't spar and doesn't watch footage of his opponents, so his familiarity with the intricacies and nuances of their styles isn't going to be complete, against bottom tier opposition that's fine but it doesn't set him up well for facing higher level guys
