Ricky Hatton has had his say on Anthony Yarde’s light heavyweight title challenge against the elite Artur Beterbiev.
Beterbiev, though, is 38-years-old, and Yarde has undoubtedly improved since his first world title shot against Sergey Kovalev.
Hatton, a former two-weight world champion, broke the fight down for Voice from the Corner, first praising Yarde’s development.
“As a British fight fan I’m very proud of the job Anthony did. He lost to Lyndon Arthur, come back, avenged it, showed he’s world class against Kovalev. He’s come back stronger and he’s improved in every department.”
Hatton also had praise for the other corner.
“18 fights, 18 wins knockout. Very explosive puncher. We’re talking pound for pound aren’t we? Real elite.”
“He’s a right powerhouse punching machine – and even though Anthony looks muscular, from a size point of view there’s not much in it is there?”
‘The Hitman’ admits that he’s picking Beterbiev to win, although was keen to throw it back to his own upset against Kostya Tszyu in 2005.
The Russian Australian failed to return from his corner for the final round, and Hatton had an upset victory that would go down in history. He knows there’s a chance Yarde can follow suit.
“To Anthony, if you hear this, we’re all behind you, you’ve got our full support. I just think it might be a bit of a bridge too far.
I think maybe stoppage seven or eight [for Beterbiev.] But, you know … I was up against a gentleman called Kostya Tszyu and nobody thought I could do it. He was a powerhouse, and look what happened to him.
The fight is available on BT Sport for viewers in the UK and ESPN+ for the US.