Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde & Artem Dalakian vs. David Jiménez RBR.

I'm expecting Jimenez to pull the upset, and win by late KO, Nica Concepcion was giving Dalakian issues early and Artem has got to be rusty as hell. Jimenez may not be all that experienced, but the fact that he was that competitive with Sandoval, is more impressive than most of Dalakian's opponents to date. Jimenez is faster on his feet and far more nimble than most of the opponents he's faced to date, also has far more power.

While I fully expect Beterbiev to win by brutal rabbit punch KO, it wouldn't shock me in the least if he got too aggressive early and is put down. Not that Yarde is amazing on the inside.... but he throws compact very hurtful punches and he doesn't need a ton of space or torque behind them to generate power, much like another British Light Heavyweight that fought Beterbiev. So it would probably serve Artur well to play it safe.

 

Beterbiev is obviously the much better fighter and he should administer a brutal beating to Yarde and knock him out. But Yarde is talented and will be dangerous for as long as he's standing. Beterbiev does leave openings when he's attacking sometimes and is vulnerable to getting caught in between shots which is which is something I think Yarde is capable of and will be looking to exploit

Would I give Yarde a chance against a Beterbiev who was in his 2os or early 30s? Absolutely not and even a 38 y/o Beterbiev is much better than him and I would pick a bunch of his victims to beat Yarde.

But the fact that almost everyone is completely writing Yarde off and are so sure he stands no chance actually makes me feel a little uneasy for Beterbiev. I've been a fan of this sport long enough and have seen too many upsets and too many strange and unexpected things happen to completely write an underdog's chances off, especially when they're much younger and fresher, have a speed advantage, pack a big punch and are facing an aged 38 y/o in their own backyard.

Yarde could just be in the right place at the right time ala Hatton vs another aged murderous punching injury prone Russian monster Tszyu who was the wrong side of 35 and in the twilight of his career and the home advantage definitely played a big factor in that one.

Don't forget that Tzsyu looked very good blowing out Sharmba Mitchell in 3 rounds in his previous fight too (ala Beterbiev vs Joe Smith), but the decline only became apparent when he was dragged into a long grueling war and he ended up losing to a younger much fresher fighter in their backyard who he was much better than.

I'm not saying Yarde can drag Beterbiev into a long grueling war of attrition like that or that Beterbiev is vulnerable to losing in that scenario. I don't think Yarde or anyone else's chances bode well in that scenario against him. But Yarde can punch and Beterbiev's at that age were he could grow old overnight, and that is going to happen at some point and it could be very soon, or where his punch resistance starts to wane. Catching and hurting Beterbiev with something big and then pouncing on him is Yarde's only route to victory for me. It's unlikely he wins and I expect Beterbiev to knock him out but the later will have to be careful in this one.

Also, I've had this ominous feeling that we've never going to see Beterbiev vs Bivol and I'm actually pissed with OG Bob for pushing for this fight, against a much younger dangerous puncher in their backyard, instead of allowing Beterbiev to fight Bivol for all the marbles instead when that fight was the fight to make and was on the table for them.

 

Thanks. Yeah, there's always a risk when you face a big puncher. You can win every second of the fight and the one second you don't win can transform a win into a loss.

Up until recently Beterbiev was the oldest fighter ranked in the P4P top 10. Prior to him the oldest was GGG and Rigo before him who were roughly the same age at that time as he is now. They both disappeared from those rankings at that age IIRC and there's a reason why it's rare to see fighters that age feature in them.