Artur Beterbiev’s likely world title defence against Anthony Yarde this year has been labelled a mismatch by Eddie Hearn.
Speaking on a variety of topics on the latest DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn demonstrated his desire to make Beterbiev against Dmitry Bivol as he looks to prefer an undisputed bout rather than Beterbiev face Yarde.
The three-belt champion looks like he’s heading to London in October to defend his crown against Yarde, but Hearn doesn’t believe that his compatriot will be competitive.
Yarde was ringside earlier this month to watch Beterbiev destroy Joe Smith to claim the WBO title and he’ll start this autumn's bout a significant underdog.
“A nice guy, from London, that’s a mismatch that fight, a total mismatch,” said Hearn when speaking to Ak and Barak.
“Yarde has done around three rounds in 18 months or whatever (five since the start of 2021) and he’s a good domestic fighter and had a good fight with [Sergey] Kovalev in Russia.
"Beterbiev is a different animal.”
Bivol, meanwhile, recently handed Canelo Alvarez only his second professional defeat and a unifier between the two Russians has been on the wishlist of many boxing fans for several years.