Anthony Yarde reiterated his calls for all-British showdown with Joshua Buatsi despite an underwhelming comeback victory over Ralfs Vilcans on Saturday night.
The Londoner, who has previously challenged for world titles against Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev, dropped his opponent within the first 10 seconds at the Copper Box but then laboured to a points victory in his first fight in eight months.
Yarde had been hoping to make a statement ahead of a showdown with Buatsi, potentially for the WBO interim title next year, but insists that he still expects to have high-profile fights in 2025.
“I will fight anybody,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’ve fought at the top of the mountain. Sometimes who is put in front of you might bring out the best version of you.
“This is a last-minute opponent. Maybe mentally I got a bit complacent here, but I would have to turn up for Buatsi.
“It’s not just Joshua Buatsi, there’s Dan Azeez, Craig Richards, so many names in this British scene.
“I’ve fought twice at world level. Before (Dmitry) Bivol I gave (Artur) Beterbiev his hardest fight. There’s fights out there, but Josh Buatsi is one of the fights I want personally.”
Yarde floored Vilcans with his first meaningful punch but was dragged into an unexpected battle against a stubborn opponent.
Only one of his previous 25 victories had gone the distance and he believes the first-round success made him over-confident.
“In my career I’ve had very little experience of doing long rounds,” he explained. “Usually when I hit someone the fight is done.
“The worst thing that could have happened was me dropping him in the first round. Then I got content that I could knock out this guy.
“It’s all experience. In the last round I said, ‘let me just box. I might not knock him out, but let me box and get a different kind of experience.'”
Buatsi responds to Yarde performance
However, Buatsi was at ringside to see his potential next opponent in action and insisted he would have dealt with Vilcans more comfortably.
“This was a routine fight,” Buatsi told Sky Sports.
“He didn’t get rid of him. We heard what he had to say but I’m outside the ring and I’m comfortable. I won’t say too much but I know what I would have done with that opponent.”
When asked if the performance made him more confident of beating Yarde he responded: “I was confident before that fight.
“He said himself if he’s boxing Buatsi he will have to show up. I’m not going to start chatting rubbish about him and how he performed.
“The guy got put down in the first round and should not have seen past round three in my opinion.”
Nelson: Yarde got complacent
Sky Sports expert Johnny Nelson felt Yarde’s performance will have an impact on the value of a showdown with Buatsi.
And he believes he must learn lessons from a difficult night in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
“Anthony Yarde himself, after the fight, was very subdued. He knows there’s a possibility that he’s going to get roasted right now because of that performance,” Nelson said.
“That performance doesn’t match what you’re hearing, what the intentions are, what the conversation is and what his ability is. I understand the frustration from both he and (trainer) Tunde Ajayi.
“The thing is this: If this is going to be pay-per-view, with these two together, you’ve got to give the public a reason to say, ‘I’m going to pay for that’.
“Right now, that’s a good fight between domestic fighters, but you’ve got to give them a reason to say, ‘I want to pay pay-per-view for that’. It’s still a good, intriguing fight, but they’re just two humble, nice guys that need the opportunity to capture the public’s imagination.
“Unfortunately, that performance there, it got to a point where I thought he was getting pickpocketed.
“After the first shot he kind of got complacent. He thought, ‘I’ve got this in the bag, I can take him out when I want’.
“That’s a lesson that all fighters have to go through at some point.”
