On Saturday, December 5th, the BT Sport Studio will host an all-Brit light heavyweight showdown between Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur for the commonwealth light heavyweight championship.
This fight was supposed to take place in April, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. Instead of making it happen over the summer, each man took on a different opponent in a “keep busy” fight.
Then the bout was rescheduled for December 5th as the co-main event of the Tyson Fury event, but that heavyweight attraction was cancelled. Now, Yarde and Arthur will headline their own event and hopefully put on a great show.
Sports betting sites have released their odds for this unofficial WBO title eliminator. Let’s step into the ring to examine these odds and see if we can TKO our predictions.
🚨 𝗜𝗧’𝗦 𝗢𝗡!!! 🚨
ＬＩＯＮ 🆚 ＫＩＮＧ
Light Heavyweight bangers @mranthonyyarde and @LyndonArthur collide in an absolute cracker on December 5th LIVE on @btsport 🔥 #YardeArthur 🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/4oYDiwrTvx
— Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) November 17, 2020
Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur
- Anthony Yarde (-900)
- Lyndon Arthur (+550)
Anthony Yarde is a sizable betting favorite in this contest with odds ranging from -650 to -925. He’s been a betting favorite in his last few fights since taking on Sergey Kovalev 16 months ago.
Lyndon Arthur is the underdog with odds ranging from +425 to +600. This is the first time that Arthur has been an underdog in the last few years.
Yarde vs Arthur Preview
| Details | Anthony Yarde | Lyndon Arthur |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 29 | 29 |
| Height | 6’0” | 6’2” |
| Reach | — | — |
| Total Fights | 21 | 17 |
| Record | 20-1 | 17-0 |
| Knockouts | 19 | 12 |
Despite being undefeated and the current commonwealth light heavyweight champ, Arthur is a sizable underdog in this matchup. He will have the slight height and reach advantages as well.
Arthur last fought in July and defeated Dec Spelman via unanimous decision in his first title defense. Lyndon won the commonwealth belt 14 months ago when he beat Emmanuel Anim via unanimous decision.
Arthur is ranked 9th in the WBC, 4th in the WBO and 10th in the IBF. A win this weekend could put him in line for at least a WBO world title shot. The unbeaten champ made the following comments about his opponent:
“Yarde has power, but to nullify it I will make sure I am not there to be hit. Everyone can hit hard if you stand in front of them. I have power as well and he needs to nullify mine. I’m not worried about his power. I’ve watched Yarde’s two fights since Kovalev and he hasn’t shown anything different. You get what you see.”
Yarde fought Kovalev 16 months ago and lost via 11th round TKO. That contest was for the WBO light heavyweight title. Since then, Yarde has gone on to score two TKO victories. In fact, only one of his fights has ever gone the distance and that was in his second professional bout.
Ironically, Yarde also fought Dec Spelman this year and he beat him via 6th round TKO in September. It’s not always common to see two foes having fought the same man just two months apart. Nevertheless, Yarde looked more impressive in his bout with Spelman than Arthur did.
Yarde is ranked 6th in the WBO and the IBF. As for this weekend’s contest, Yarde had the following comments:
“From my side, I will be about bringing entertainment for the viewers, spectacular action and a devastating finish. I want to make it a memorable fight that will be remembered for a long time. I am totally focused only on this fight and I am treating it just as seriously as I would for a world title. I take every fight seriously and right now I am just working towards getting the job done in the best fashion.”
Who Will Win This Fight?
This all British fight is going to be exciting. Both men like to finish off their opponents as they have a combined 31 knockouts in 38 total contests.
Yarde has the power advantage in this contest and I believe it will make the difference by time it’s all said and done. I don’t think Arthur will get stopped, but I do see Yarde coming away with a unanimous decision win in this 12 round contest.
With that said, for the betting daredevils out there, Arthur is worth a small, but risky flier.
Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur –Yarde (-900)
Rick Rockwell
As a longtime freelance writer, avid sports fan, former athlete, and experienced sports bettor, Rick Rockwell has risen up the ranks at GamblingSites.org to become the self-professed “King of the Blog” in his first year with the site. …
