A strong start to the year in boxing continues, with yet another title fight this January. Artur Beterbiev vs Anthony Yarde will be the third of three title fights taking place in London this weekend, as Wembley Stadium sees 12 boxing bouts on Saturday night. With the WBC, WBO, and IBF World Light Heavyweight titles on the line, expect this to be a mouth-watering encounter.
There’s nothing better than the home favorite fighting in his own backyard as the underdog against the visiting champion, who has plenty of belts to lose. This is the kind of contest that boxing has forged its reputation on, and England’s Anthony Yarde will be hoping to continue this fine legacy by scoring an upset victory over Russian-Canadian Artur Beterbiev this weekend. We preview this fight and outline the best bets to make ahead of the first bell on Saturday evening.
| Belts: | WBC, WBO, and IBF World Light Heavyweight titles |
| Venue: | Wembley Stadium, London, England |
| Date: | January 29th 2023, from 3:30 PM EST |
Here’s a quick overview of the Beterbiev vs Yarde odds from the best British boxing bookmakers ahead of Saturday’s bout:
Unsurprisingly, the unbeaten incumbent champion is the heavy favorite heading into this fight. Artur Beterbiev holds strong odds of 1.14 (1/7) to collect another win here, while Anthony Yarde’s odds are much longer at 5.50 (9/2) for the win in London on Saturday night.
25+ sportsSuperb bonusesEasy to useVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany bonuses24/7 supportMobile appsLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsGreat supportMobile appsLive bettingThese are two strong, in-form light heavyweight boxers. However, dig a little deeper into their track records, and we can see why Artur Beterbiev is the overwhelming favorite in this clash.
Artur Beterbiev is the incumbent light heavyweight champion here, having picked up his three belts in 2017, 2019, and 2022. The elephant in the room when it comes to Beterbiev is that the man has been fighting as a professional for a decade, stepping into the ring 18 times, and no man has managed to go the distance with him. Beterbiev holds an incredible 100% knockout rate for his record of 18-0-0.
England’s Anthony Yarde has a record that is almost as impressive. The 31-year-old has a 88% knockout rate, having won 22 of his 25 fights by knockout. Of the three where he didn’t win by finishing his opponent, he lost two for a record of 23-2-0 across eight years as a professional boxer. Yarde is fighting in front of a home crowd and will be eager to get them involved here.
For those who like betting on boxing fights, here are our top two wagers we suggest taking with online bookmakers this weekend:
Artur Beterbiev should win this fight, and he should win this fight by knockout. Both of these outcomes are so likely, that betting on these markets does not produce a very lucrative return. However, what does have a healthier return is betting on this match to be over 6.5 rounds.
In his past four fights, three times Beterbiev has taken longer than 6.5 rounds to finish his opponent. Given the caliber of Yarde and the challenge of Beterbiev fighting in front of a hostile English crowd, it’s not hard to see this match taking Beterbiev some time to win. Add to this the fact that Yarde’s two losses came by decision or late knockout, and a bet of 2.00 (1/1) is looking like a good wager.
Specifically, we say Beterbiev will get the job done somewhere after the eighth round. 75% of his last four knockouts have been in rounds 9-12, a trend that has arisen recently in Beterbiev’s career. With the Russian-Canadian now 38 years of age, he’s not moving quite as fast as he used to. While he still has the power and fight IQ of a true champion, Beterbiev is now tending to take a little longer to get across the line than he used to.
For those who like taking a bit of a risk in their online betting to spice up their live streaming, here’s an unconventional wager we see being worthwhile:
If ever there was a time for the Beast from the East to be forced to go the distance, it would be against a strong opponent such as Anthony Yarde, fighting in front of a home crowd. While we think Beterbiev will still dominate this fight enough to come away the victor, there will come a time when the Russian is unable to send his man to the floor, and that time might just be this Saturday night.
This Saturday night will see Wembley Stadium lit up by 12 professional boxing bouts. The finale of these will be Beterbiev vs Yarde, where home favorite Yarde will attempt to unseat Beterbiev as the unified light heavyweight champion. Our boxing betting tips are all around Beterbiev to defend his titles, but tune in this Saturday night to confirm.
