Frank Warren Says It Was Important To Get Home Advantage For Anthony Yarde vs. Artur Beterbiev Fight

Frank Warren says it was crucial to have Anthony Yarde vs. Artur Beterbiev in England.

Yarde is set to challenge Beterbiev for the WBC, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight titles at Wembley Arena on Saturday. It’s an intriguing matchup and one that the champ is going into enemy territory which was important to Warren who promotes Yarde as the Brit had to go to Russia to face Sergey Kovalev in 2019.

“It was important to get home advantage,” Warren said. “I managed to get a deal done with Bob Arum. But they are happy to be here, they fancy their guy big time – they think it will be a formality. But I look back at some of the formalities there have been over the years. Jeff Lacy was supposed to be a formality to beat Joe Calzaghe, it was a formality for Kostya Tszyu to beat Ricky Hatton. I can mention loads over the years. I just hope I have picked the right moment for this fight. If anyone can do it, I think he can.”

With the fight being in England, Frank Warren is expecting Anthony Yarde to feed off the energy. With that, the promoter expects that Yarde will land something big early to get the KO win and become the champ.

“If Anthony lands, I think he takes him out,” Warren said. “I’m sure everyone has a plan. The important thing for fighters is to have a plan A and a plan B and sometimes a plan C. I’m hoping at the age of 38, age will be against Beterbiev – that is the chance we are taking…

“He is a natural athlete – he’s a tough, tough guy and super fit,” Warren later added. “He is also a quick learner. He impresses me with what he has been able to do. I’ve got a lot of time for him. From the start, nobody knew who he was and he has done a good job. He has got a winning mentality. This is a big, big night for him, it is a big moment in his life and I think he has the temperament to get through it. But he wanted Beterbiev. There was no thought of him going for an easier opponent. He studied him and his mantra is that he can beat him. Timing is key. I like to think in important fights I have got it right. But there are times when you need to roll the dice if you believe in your guy.”

Will you be watching Anthony Yarde vs. Artur Beterbiev?