The highly anticipated rematch between British light heavyweights Lyndon Arthur and Anthony Yarde is set to take place on the 4th December at the Copper Box Arena in Stratford.
The rematch was initially scheduled for the 9th of October, however, due to difficulty in securing a venue, the date for the fight was pushed back.
The pair’s bout comes almost a year to the date of their first meeting. That fight went the full 12 rounds with Arthur winning via split decision and successfully defending his Commonwealth light heavyweight title, which he has held since 2019, while also adding the vacant WBO intercontinental belt to his collection.
Manchester born Arthur showed the importance of using the jab successfully in a fight. This, combined with a disciplined game plan, allowed him to win via the judges scorecards on the night.
He handed Yarde only the second loss of his 23 fights so far, his first came against Sergey Kovalev when he challenged for the WBO light heavyweight world title. Arthur’s use of the jab and perceived reluctance on the night to let his right hand go in the fight was actually due to injury.
After the fight Arthur revealed in interviews that he had been nursing the injury going into the fight, but he suggested it was just a result of “wear and tear”. Reflecting on the first fight Arthur said: “Even if I had my right hand, I didn’t need my right hand.” He added: “I don’t need to make excuses. I won.”
“I believe I will win again”
When the pair meet in December, Lyndon Arthur is confident he can get the job done to make it 2-0 against Yarde and extend his perfect professional record to 20-0. The current WBO number one ranked light-heavyweight, proclaimed that “I believe I will win again and I will just adapt to the situation of the fight.”
Winning the rematch will further propel Arthur’s career, as a win will earn him the chance to fight American Joe Smith for his WBO world title. If he prevails, that fight is another Arthur feels confident he can win: “The rankings say a world title is within my reach and I believe I can beat Joe Smith Jr.”
Speaking to the media, hall of fame promoter Frank Warren emphasized that position to be up for grabs stating that the winner of this rematch has a real opportunity to push on with their career: “Lyndon is currently ranked number one for Joe Smith’s WBO world title so that spot is there for these two guys to see who is moving forward.”
Against All Odds
Arthur surprised many by winning the first fight. Many fans and bookies believed Yarde to be the clear favourite. After the fight, Yarde memorably appeared quite frustrated with the result in his interview with BT Sport, telling presenter Steve Bunce: “I personally and strongly feel that was a robbery, I’ll be honest with you.” He then added: “I don’t like to scream the word robbery, but I feel like I won the fight.” In interviews since the first bout between the two Brits Yarde has admitted “At the time I thought I won the fight… when I watched it back, you see another angle.” Yarde went on to say: “It’s all learning, I didn’t do my job.”
Both fighters have had one bout and one victory since they took the ring in December, with Yarde making easy work of his opponent Alex Theran, knocking him out in the first round. Arthur, meanwhile, faced off against Italian David Faraci and won via stoppage in the ninth round.
“We Will Get Something Very Special”
A major difference between this meeting compared to the first is the fact that this time there will be boxing fans in attendance. The first fight between Arthur and Yarde took place behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discussing the fight, Frank Warren said: “This is a fight that needs an audience roaring them both on.” He went on to add: “I believe the fans at the Copper Box will make a huge difference and we will get something very special from Lyndon and Anthony.”
With the fight still around 5 weeks away, boxing fans can expect a lot of build up and hype in the run up to fight night on December 4th.
From Yarde’s perspective, he will be hoping to avenge his loss in the first fight and avoid a third career defeat if he has ambitions of fighting for a world title again in the near future.
For Arthur, however, he will be hoping to pick up another massive victory to push his career to the next level and earn his own opportunity to fight for a world title.
