Anthony Yarde

Yarde hurt Beterbiev in an astonishing fifth round, but was then pulled out of the fight in eighth after being knocked down by a powerful right hand. Russian ...

"Everyone in this division can punch and Anthony can too. Karol was a big favourite in a fight for the WBC international light-heavyweight title, but gave off warnings of a potential off night in the works from the first round as he was continually tagged by rights from Maderna. Yarde appeared on the verge of going down, but stayed on his feet and eventually was able to escape and see out the round. Yarde poured forward in a bid to end the fight but Beterbiev fought back in kind and unleashed a flurry of punches, leaving his rival swaying on his feet as the bell arrived. Yarde was then forced to fight his way out of the corner after Beterbiev did magnificently to close the distance, a feat he achieved throughout the fight. Yarde hurt Beterbiev in an astonishing fifth round, but was then pulled out of the fight in the eighth after being knocked down by a powerful right hand.

Beterbiev and Yarde touched gloves in a light-heavyweight world title unification clash, with the British star dropped and stopped in devastating fashion by ...

An astonishing seventh round saw both fighters have a period of joy with the pair trading brutal blows, before Beterbiev landed a devastating right hook in the eighth. Beterbiev already had a mark under his eye in the second round, and a firefight broke out with a heavy flurry seeing both fighters caught by powerful close-range shots. Beterbiev and Yarde squared off at the OVO Wembley Arena with 'The Beast From The East' looking to dethrone the undefeated Russian champion in a huge upset.

Artur Beterbiev hopes to retain his three light heavyweight belts as he comes up against Anthony Yarde tonight. British fighter Yarde is the WBO mandatory ...

- Joshua Frankham vs. - Main card: 2 p.m. - Main event ringwalks (approx): 5.30 p.m. - Charles Frankham vs. - Umar Khan vs. - Karol Ituma vs. - Willy Hutchinson vs. - Artur Beterbiev vs. [ESPN+ in the U.S. ET / 10.30 p.m. - Artem Dalakian vs. ET / 7 p.m.

The British challenger put up a stunning effort in a brutal battle, but Russian-Canadian champion proved too strong in the end. Beterbiev came out on top. Getty.

The champion followed up with a series of blows which put the challenger down. At the start of the fourth, Beterbiev looked to capitalise and hammered Yarde with a series of big hooks which hurt him. The bell rang to end the early contender for Round of the Year. But the champion landed a huge left hook which appeared to stagger the challenger just as the bell went. The challenger was happy to box on the back foot and countered well with a couple of notable left hooks early on. The British challenger put up a stunning effort in a brutal battle, but the Russian-Canadian champion proved too strong for him in the end.

DAZN's Mark Lelinwalla lays out what each boxer must do to be successful Saturday night in this light heavyweight championship bout.

Watch for him to time and do the same Saturday night if Yarde shows that hunger to stalk. Beterbiev has the kind of bang in his right hand to disintegrate opponents into debris — not to mention shadows of their former selves thereafter. The attack paved the way for him to lower his hands enough for Yarde to catch him with a whiplashing right uppercut that granted him a third-round KO. If he senses that Yarde is a bit too overzealous and catches him with that compact right hook, it could spell the beginning of the end for the challenger and more momentum and noise toward a Beterbiev vs. By all means, Yarde could and should bring the pressure to Beterbiev. Yarde has a penchant of keeping his guard around his pectorals often.

Tunde Ajayi's decision to pull Anthony Yarde out of his fight with Artur Beterbiev has attracted praise.

But Yarde refused to dump his trainer. Ajayi has faced criticism for his corner work in the past. BBC Sport visited Yarde and Ajayi in camp before the Beterbiev fight. He had to arrive at the gym at 5am each day. Perhaps 31-year-old Yarde could have survived, but there was still a minute left in the round. And one bad knockout can change the trajectory of a fighters life, never mind their career. He is a ruthless finisher. "Everyone can criticise all they like but those are the people you get in the ring with you on fight night, and only Yarde knows if he wants to continue to trust those people." Ajayi called Yarde his "hero" during the build-up to Saturday's bout. He insisted he didn't train amateurs, but Yarde went on a knockout run in the unpaid ranks to change Ajayi's mind. The referee Steve Gray gives Yarde the chance to prove he is OK and is satisfied enough to let the fight continue. A wounded Anthony Yarde looks to his corner after getting back to his feet.