Kovalev vs Yarde

Who won Kovalev vs Yarde?

Sergey Kovalev beat Anthony Yarde by technical knockout in the 11th round on Saturday, August 24th, 2019, at Traktor Sport Palace, Chelyabinsk.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Light Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 175 pounds (12.5 stone or 79.4 kg).

This contest was for the WBO light heavyweight championship of the world.

The undercard featured the clash of Papin vs Makabu.

Kovalev vs Yarde stats

Back in August 2019, Sergey Kovalev stepped into the ring with a record of 33 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw, 28 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Anthony Yarde made his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 18 wins and 0 draws, with 17 of those by knockout.

The stats suggested Yarde had a slight advantage in power over Kovalev, with a 94% knockout percentage compared to Kovalev's 85%.

Sergey Kovalev was the older man by 8 years, at 36 years old.

Both Sergey Kovalev and Anthony Yarde fought out of an orthodox stance.

Kovalev was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 19 more fights, and made his debut in 2009, 5 years and 9 months earlier than Yarde, whose first professional fight was in 2015. He had fought 91 more professional rounds, totaling 204 compared to Yarde's 113.

Anthony Yarde was ranked number 1 by the WBO in the 175lb division.

Kovalev vs Yarde form

Kovalev had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Eleider Alvarez on February 2, 2019, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at The Ford Center at The Star, Texas, United States.

Prior to that, he had been beaten by Eleider Alvarez on August 4, 2018, by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, New Jersey.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Igor Mikhalkin on March 3, 2018, by technical knockout in the 7th round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Before that, he had beaten Vyacheslav Shabranskyy on November 25, 2017, by technical knockout in the 2nd round in their WBO World Light heavyweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York.

He had lost to Andre Ward on June 17, 2017, by technical knockout in the 8th round in their WBA Super World Light Heavyweight, IBF World Light Heavyweight, WBO World Light heavyweight and The Ring Light Heavyweight championship fight at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas.

Anthony Yarde had stopped all of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Travis Reeves on March 8, 2019, by technical knockout in the 5th round at Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom.

Prior to that, he had won against Walter Gabriel Sequeira on October 20, 2018, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Brentwood Centre, Essex.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Dariusz Sek on June 23, 2018, by technical knockout in the 7th round at The O2 Arena, London.

Before that, he had defeated Tony Averlant on February 24, 2018, by technical knockout in the 7th round at York Hall, London.

He had won against Nikola Sjekloca on December 9, 2017, by technical knockout in the 4th round at Copper Box Arena, London.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Anthony Yarde had been fighting more than Sergey Kovalev.

Going into this contest, Sergey Kovalev had last fought 6 months and 22 days ago, while Anthony Yarde's last outing had been 5 months and 16 days ago.

Kovalev's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 2 months and 7 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 5 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 36 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7.2 rounds on average.

Yarde's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 8 months and 15 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 4 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 27 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 5.4 rounds on average.

What time did Kovalev vs Yarde start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 6:30 PM UTC at Traktor Sport Palace, Chelyabinsk, Russia, which was 2:30 PM EST or 11:30 AM PST on the West Coast of America, or 7:30 PM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Kovalev vs Yarde?

The ESPN+ show began at 12:30 PM EST / 9:30 AM PST. The BT Sport 2 broadcast of the card started at 5:00 PM (BST).

What were the odds on Kovalev vs Yarde?

Sergey Kovalev was a 1/2 (-200) favorite going into the contest, while Anthony Yarde made his way into the ring at 31/20 (+150) with oddsmakers.