Artur Beterbiev v Joe Smith: Anthony Yarde in talks to fight winner for world title

Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith fight in a unification clash on Saturday

Briton Anthony Yarde is in line to fight the winner of Artur Beterbiev v Joe Smith later this year.

Yarde, 30, will be ringside for the light heavyweight unification match for the IBF, WBC and WBO belts on Saturday in New York.

Promoter Frank Warren says he has been in talks with Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who promotes Beterbiev and Smith.

“It’s more or less agreed – we’re looking to fight the winner in October in London,” Warren told BBC Sport.

“Bob and I have agreed we’ll do the fight, but they’re going to be ordered [to fight Yarde] anyway. It will be a great fight, whoever wins.”

Russia’s Beterbiev is the WBC and IBF champion, while American Smith holds the WBO belt. Yarde is the number one ranked contender to Smith’s WBO title.

Beterbiev, 37, is undefeated with a perfect knockout ratio in 17 fights, while 32-year-old Smith has suffered three losses, including a 2019 defeat by WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.

Yarde has 22 wins and two losses in 24 fights. His most recent win was over Lyndon Arthur in December when he avenged his 2020 defeat by his British rival with a decisive knockout.

A fight against Beterbiev or Smith would be the second world title fight of Yarde’s career. He lost his first shot at a world title against then WBO champion Sergey Kovalev in 2019.