Yarde coach: Ricky is a good fight, while it lasts it’s a good fight
Ricky Summers…faces Anthony Yarde at Wembley on September 23
ANTHONY Yarde’s trainer has hit back at critics who have accused the big hitting light-heavyweight of “taking a step down” by facing Ricky Summers.
The pair meet on the undercard of Joe Joyce’s rematch with Zhilei Zhang at Wembley Arena on September 23.
And I agree with Yarde’s coach, Tundi Ajayi. Ricky, from Wombourne, may be considered a comprehensive underdog, but he’s earned the right to face the Londoner on a major card.
The 36-year-old beat Joel McIntyre for the English belt, pushed current European king Dan Azeez to a split decision and has consistently shown he can compete at the highest domestic level.
He has, in a long career, earned this major payday on a major show.
Last time out, Yarde fought valiantly against concussive punching world champ Artur Beterbiev. In a thriller, he hurt Beterbiev in the fifth before being pulled out in the eighth.
In defeat, his stock soared.
He also emerged with credit from his 2019 clash with WBO champ Sergey Kovalev. Yarde had the Russian in dire straits in the eight before being despatched in the 11th.
His trainer Ajayi told International Boxing News: “People who are criticising (the Summers bout) ain’t boxers, they ain’t trainers. Life is polarity, it’s just life, so I never listen to things like that.
“When people say he (Yarde) is dropping down, who has he just fought? He’s just fought another monster with a perfect KO record. Although the fight was in January, in my opinion it was one of the fights of the year.
“You don’t throw Anthony Yarde in every fight, not in my book as a trainer. You use a fight to gauge where your fighter is. Ricky Summers is solid, he’s never been stopped, he lost on a split to a British, Commonwealth and European champion.
“It’s a good fight, while it lasts it’s a good fight. It’s one fight at a time, you don’t look past your next opponent in boxing. For Ricky Summers, this is like a world title fight, he ain’t going to be coming to lie down.
“You see when he’s doing interviews, he’s saying things like, ‘I’m doing this for my kids’. When I see things like this I think, ‘cool’, I’m studying, I’m doing what I have to do as a trainer.
“Respect to Ricky Summers for taking the fight.”