Anthony Yarde plots a future outside the ring while still chasing his fighting dreams

Anthony Yarde returns to the ring this weekend, on the Boxxer show at London’s Copper Box Arena, and the bill lists Yarde’s AY Promotions as a co-promoter. 

The 33-year-old Londoner faces Ralfs Vilcans, a Latvian with a record of 17-1 (7 KOs), but the visitor is not expected to spoil the party. 

“AY Promotions is a promotional company I’ve launched,” Yarde explained. “If people weren’t paying attention, it was at the [Artur] Beterbiev fight [when he fought Beterbiev in Wembley Arena last year]. It’s just something again, dreams and aspirations of mine, as I’m growing, is to grow something to grow with me.

“We’ve seen it with other fighters. Gervonta Davis has got it. Floyd Mayweather’s got it. Canelo’s got it. A lot of these big fighters have got it, so they can have more insight into the stuff that goes in the background.”

It is a build, however, and Yarde expects to focus on it more when he is no longer an active fighter.

”Definitely,” he said. “I compartmentalise things like that to focus on one thing at a time, so right now I’m an active fighter, but again, my dreams and aspirations are to keep on going.”

Since Beterbiev in January 2023, Yarde has blasted out Jorge Silva in two rounds and Marko Nikolic in three. Now, he wants to focus on remaining active while waiting for more big fights, like he experienced against Sergey Kovalev and Beterbiev. 

“That’s the main thing, hitting the nail on the head. It’s activity,” Yarde told BoxingScene on the eve of facing Vilcans. “I’m not gonna be one of those fighters whose career is defined by what the public want because the public want what they want and there’s an end goal. But in between I’m allowed to and I’m going to try my best to stay active. The only difference between now and years ago is now everything’s televised. I’m a television fighter.

“Someone like James Toney, if you go back and look at their records, look at the great [Julio Cesar] Chavez, they’d have a pay-per-view fight, live on TV, and then two months later while they’re waiting, they’d have a fight off-TV. Go and look at their records. You’ll see they fought these massive fights, and then there was like three fights in between. You’re like, ‘What were those fights? Why hasn’t that guy got much of a record?’

“That’s why them guys are legendary fighters, and I’m limited in experience in terms of as an amateur. When I fought Kovalev and Beterbiev, they’d had hundreds of amateur fights. I had 12. Experience plays a part. Time being in the ring plays a part. Being comfortable in the ring, etcetera.”

Kovalev stopped him in the 11th of a hard fight, while Beterbiev halted him in the eighth of a contest that was awarded the Fight of the Year by the British Boxing Board of Control.

The knock-on Yarde early on was he swept through subpar opposition. Then, when he went in deep, he was in too deep. He split two fights with Lyndon Arthur, but the first bout, which Yarde lost a lackadaisical split decision, came as Yarde struggled to focus having lost a series of family members in the pandemic.

A more psychologically-prepared Yarde made the rematch far more straightforward, stopping Arthur in four.

On Saturday, Yarde served as a guest analyst on Sky Sports covering the Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol blockbuster and Yarde, 25-3 (24 KOs), hopes his path will cross with those fighters in the future.

“100 per cent. I’m a person who doesn’t mind being the underdog, limited in experience but takes on all challenges. Someone that, throughout my career, I’ve never shied away from challenges, never shied away from nobody.

“I enjoyed the fight. I saw it as Bobby Fischer was playing Magnus [Carlsen] in a chess match. It was a sensational, brutal chess match. That’s why it was such a close fight. Everyone knew it would be – unless someone got caught with something heavy – but they were both so switched on and focused and it was such a close fight.”

Yarde still wants the challenges. He wants the spotlight and he wants to be the main event. Activity is key, too.

“When I was going to Russia, some people were saying I was crazy for going to Chelyabinsk to face Kovalev, some in a good way but at the same time some of them had that mean face like, ‘Are you sure you wanna go Russia? To fight Kovalev?’ But it just shows my character. I will literally go after my dreams. My dream is to become world champion, and eventually undisputed.”

It seems possible that due to the narrow nature of Beterbiev’s victory over Bivol, the two top 175-pounders might go again in 2025. That means Yarde’s wait for a title could continue but he still has an eye on big fights.

Him versus Joshua Buatsi, mooted for years, would do big business in London.

Asked specifically whether Buatsi is a fight he still wants, Yarde replied: “One of them, 100 per cent. Buatsi’s a big fight. There’s other big fights, other names, Andre Dirrell is a former champion with a big name, he’s been calling me out. There’s a lot of interest going on. [David] Benavidez. There’s going up to cruiserweight. It depends on opportunities that present themselves. All I’m saying is, Buatsi’s not my only option, but vice versa, maybe I’m Buatsi’s only option. I’m the bigger name, clearly. I’ve fought for two world titles and that’s a fight I definitely want. I want that fight. 

“There’s records to show it.”