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Anthony Yarde, Other British Prospects to Take Big Step Saturday

Anthony Yarde

Britain’s Anthony Yarde (14-0, 13 KOs), an individual future world champion, will take a big step toward that goal this weekend with a fight against Tony Averlant (26-9-2, 5 KOs) of France for Yarde’s WBO European Light Heavyweight title and WBO Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight title.

Britain’s Anthony Yarde (14-0, 13 KOs), an individual future world champion, will take a big step toward that goal this weekend with a fight against Tony Averlant (26-9-2, 5 KOs) of France for Yarde’s WBO European Light Heavyweight title and WBO Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight title.

Also on the card are a crop of British boxing prospects, Nathan Gorman and Ryan Garner. One of the more intriguing fights on the card is the IBF European Super Featherweight championship fight with Zelfa Barrett of Manchester taking on Ronnie Clark.

The colorful Scot sported neon-green hair during the press conference and promised to beat Zelfa Barrett, though such a feat would be quite an upset.

Big things are expected of Yarde who has dispatched all but, one of his opponents by knockout. Averlant, who can’t even say he has won three fights for each of his nine losses, is a meal ticket for Yarde. Hopefully, we will see him against tougher fare in the near future.

Yarde hopes to challenge the British Light Heavyweight scene in the near term and is a likely future world champion. In front of the cameras, Yarde was more cautious when speaking of his future, only hoping for “better things” in the future and saying of himself that he needs to “keep progressing.”

The future world champion spoke to Round By Round Boxing about his plans and working at Floyd Mayweather’s gym.

Another interesting fight on the card is Zelfa Barrett a featherweight prospect with a good pedigree who is taking his biggest test to date in Ronnie Clark 20-4-2.

The Scotsman hopes to give Barrett a rude welcome in what will be Barrett’s first fight in London.

With his bright wide-eyes and neon-green corn-rows in his hair, Ronnie Clark might look like a Scottish character out of Trainspotting.

However, at the press conference for his showed a different side of the fighter.

Clark was the first fighter to show up for the press conference. His flannel shirt hiding a series of tattoos for nearly half-an-hour before the start of the press conference, Clark was quietly reading Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work by Los Angeles based writer Steven Pressfield.

“It’s about turning pro. It’s about going from amateur to professional for any person in any walk of lives,” said Clark. He says it is the only book he has ever read “cover to cover” and one he reads repeatedly.

“It’s going to be a good year for me,” said the 33-year-old Clark. One change appears to be his hair, which is now neon green, not bright red as in the past. Last year, despite winning two fights, Clark faced legal trouble.

Clark hopes to turn a new page in his life this year–just as he did in 2011 when he quit kickboxing to focus on using his fists in the squared circle and hasn’t looked back.

“I would take any fight… I would fight King Kong tomorrow,” said Clark. “People write me off, but at the end of the day you can’t write off Ronnie Clark.”

Though admitting that his weigh in with Martin Joseph Ward had been heated, he made clear he has “no beef with anyone in boxing,” but hopes to ruin the night for Zelfa Barrett.

“I have the toughness that breaks people’s will and Saturday night’s someone’s will’s going to beat.”

 

Header photo courtesy of Anthony Yarde on Instagram

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