Anthony Yarde anticipates facing Joshua Buatsi, a competitor from London, at some point. While Buatsi fight another top London light-heavyweight, Dan Azeez, on October 21 at the O2 Arena, Yarde returns to action against Ricky Summers next month after losing a world title match to Artur Beterbiev.
For many years, Yarde has been considering a confrontation with Buatsi. He stated on the Toe2Toe podcast: “I believed that Buatsi and I would have engaged in combat. I thought it was enjoyable.
“I truly don’t care. Also, I believe that it will occur eventually.”
The two have spoken face-to-face about staging the fight, according to Yarde, who is optimistic that it can be done in due time. “We’ll make the fight as huge as it needs to be when the moment is right. We’ll trash speak if it’s necessary,” Yarde stated. He added, “If it has to be tactical, if we need to get in each other’s faces, it will be tactical.”
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“I spoke with him directly, and it seems that we both want to fight. I’m not afraid of anyone, and I absolutely want to fight. I’ve repeatedly demonstrated who I am.” He also referenced his friendship with Azeez while stating that he would prefer a Buatsi fight to victory. “I’m quite familiar with Dan Azeez. Azeez has a wonderful heart and is a kind person, therefore it would be nice to see him triumph,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time.
“But once more, will it lessen the conflict between Buatsi and me? Possibly. Therefore, I would like Buatsi fight and win for that reason. This is business.”
Yarde was unable to predict which of the two would prevail in the battle, saying: “I don’t know because Buatsi is really up and down. He has very excellent days and extremely bad days when it comes to appearance. Azeez has gotten better at battling respectable opposition. He has been stopping adversaries.”
Reflecting on his near misses at becoming a world champion, Yarde acknowledged the difficulties of entering the sport so late. Yarde’s viewpoint was unmistakable: “I’ve repeatedly demonstrated that I’m willing to take on all challenges, and I’ll do so in the future as well.”
His fight against Artur Beterbiev, an unbeaten unified world champion with a 100% knockout rate, demonstrated his versatility and perseverance as he was negotiating a challenging learning curve.
Yarde stated, “I’ve always been in a scenario where I’m learning on the job when talking about my fights with elite competitors like Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev. I’ve entered the ring several times, and each time has been different. I fought in 12 amateur fights throughout my brief amateur career. Since most of my professional fights ended in knockouts and I haven’t spent much time in the ring, each time I do is a whole new experience.”
In an eight-round back-and-forth fight in London earlier this year, Beterbiev defeated Yarde. The champion was scheduled to face Callum Smith this weekend in Canada to defend his WBC, WBO, and IBF light-heavyweight championships, but a jawbone infection compelled him to postpone the fight until January 13.
Yarde is confident he can succeed since Smith injured the champion. Maybe this is Callum Smith’s time, he added, “I really believe that what is intended for you will come to pass.”
“I think I may have caused some harm. I’m sure I was a little part of his victory if he does. I’m hoping Callum Smith can go up against him, win, and defeat him.”
Due to the delay, Beterbiev will fight Smith over a year after his last fight. Despite his injuries, Yarde does not believe that the champion will be harmed by his absence.
“It would be a terrific fight,” he predicted. “But once more, the moment is now. Betterbiev is extremely disciplined and doesn’t act like he’s getting older. But once more, that’s a significant issue with a jaw infection. So perhaps Callum can win when he competes.”
The match between Yarde and Summers will take place on September 23 as a prelude to Joe Joyce’s rematch with Zhilei Zhang.
Summers was defeated by Dan Azeez in a split decision in 2021, and Yarde stressed his respect for all opponents and meticulous prepping for every bout to make sure he doesn’t underrate any task. “If I wasn’t taking every fight seriously, I would never have gotten to the stage I’ve got to, where I’m at,” he said.
“To me, every opponent I face is like a world title match. You must triumph.”
