Beterbiev won again by knockout, extending his incredible streak to 19 out of 19 fights and retaining his crown in a memorable fight.

Arthur Beterbiev successfully defended his WBC, IBF and WBO light heavyweight titles by knocking out English challenger Antonio Yarde in the eighth round of their fight on Saturday.

Beterbiev improved aua 19-0 record, thanks to his 19th knockout. He has dominated the fight at Wembley Arena since the seventh chapter.

The Canadian-born Russian dropped Yarde right-handed. The Londoner survived the 10 count in the second minute, but from his corner the sponge was thrown in.

Yarde impressed in the first three rounds, while Beterbiev’s class didn’t start to appear until later. In the fourth episode it hit him, but Yarde answered with hooks and uppercuts.although he began to suffer a hemorrhage in his left cheekbone.

After losing his second title fight, Yarde saw his record drop to 23-3.

Beterbiev has held the IBF title since 2017 and has held the World Boxing Council belt since 2019.

He added the World Boxing Organization championship to his collection in June when he was axed Joe Smith at Madison Square Garden.

Beterbiev’s knockout streak amazes fans and insiders, but does not reveal the champion, who turned 38 last Saturday. “I don’t really think about the record. If I did, my mind would be focused on just that. And I don’t know what the formula is. Maybe I have a couple of secrets I keep at the gym, but I don’t know which one is helping me.” And you could joke about this: “99% is luck and 1% is preparation.”

Yarde joins the list of 18 opponents who are able to certify the sleeping effect of Beterbiev’s punches. The last one who had tried it, last June, was the American Joe Smith, then WBO monarch, who lasted less than six minutes, during which he was knocked down three times before referee Harvey Dock stopped the beating . In the list of victims there are other champions such as the American Tavoris Cloud, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Gvozdyk, the Spanish Gabriel Campillo and the German Enrico Koelling.

This inclement record has become the best cover letter for the Russian, born in Khasavyurt, Republic of Dagestan (one of 22 that make up the Russian Federation), but residing in Canada. However, Beterbiev is not just a relentless boxer. In his 10 years as a professional, since his debut in June 2013, he has shown good technical baggage (forged over the years as an amateur), intensity and courage to overcome adverse situations, such as the one he had to experience in December 2021: he lived through five rounds with a gruesome head wound to his forehead before knocking out Marcus Browne in the ninth round in Montreal.

The real goal of the two-time Olympic representative (in Beijing 2008 and London 2012) does not lie in numbers, but in belts: he has repeated several times that his project is to bring together the four in the medium-heavyweight category. That’s why many are rubbing their hands thinking about a fight with his compatriot Dmitry Bivol, owner of the World Boxing Association belt, who also seemed more interested in a duel for the unchallenged reign at 175 pounds than in a rematch with Saúl Canelo Álvarez, whom he defeated last May.