Welcome to Fightful's live coverage of Sergey Kovalev vs. Anthony Yarde for the WBO light heavyweight title. Today, Kovalev heads home to Russia to defend his WBO title for the first time since beating Eleider Alvarez back in February while Yarde is attempting to win his first world title.
We'll provide quick results of the undercard and round-by-round coverage of the main event. You can join in the discussion on our Disqus boards below.
Below is the main card (12:30 p.m. ET/ESPN+):
- Sergey Kovalev defeated Anthony Yarde by KO, round 11, 2:04 to retain the WBO light heavyweight title
- Ilunga Makabu defeated Aleksei Papin by majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 115-113) to retain the WBC Silver cruiserweight title.
- Evgeny Romanov defeated Dario German Balmaceda by TKO, round 1, 2:33
Sergey Kovalev vs. Anthony Yarde: WBO light heavyweight title bout
Round 1: Yarde starts off with a left hook and Kovalev connects with the left jab. Kovalev connects with two more straight lefts. Yarde throws a quick left hook, but doesn’t throw much. Kovalev lands a left to the body, followed by three straight jabs. Not a ton of action in this opening round.
Fightful scored round 1 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 2: Kovalev continues to figure out Yarde’s speed, but still throws a couple of left jabs to start. Both men exchange left hooks. Kovalev catches Yarde with a counter left jab that stuns him for a moment. Kovalev is mixing up his punches and is looking more comfortable in the second round. Kovalev connects with a right hook. Yarde throws a right to Kovalev's body.
Fightful scored round 2 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 3: Yarde is starting to be a little more aggressive and lands a left hook to the side of Kovalev’s head. Kovalev lands another left hand upstairs to Yarde. Yarde throws two straight lefts, followed by a left hand to the body. Yarde continues to be more aggressive and lands a solid check hook on Kovalev.
Fightful scored round 3 for Yarde 10-9
Round 4: Yarde’s left hook lands on Kovalev’s jaw and is looking more energized compared to the champion. Yarde missed with the left hook and Kovalev connects with the right hand. Kovalev connected with a left uppercut and Yarde lands a left hook to Kovalev. Yarde lands a 1-2 combination on Kovalev and the two boxers exchange jabs. Kovalev lands a big left hand upstairs.
Fightful scored round 4 for Yarde 10-9
Round 5: Kovalev and Yarde get hit hard after a couple of jabs land from each fighter. Kovalev lands a 1-2 that snaps Yarde’s head back. Yarde is starting to get tired as he is struggling to respond to Kovalev’s jab. Kovalev is starting to land several combinations.
Fightful scored round 5 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 6: Kovalev corners Yarde to start the round. Yarde is starting throw punches one at a time while Kovalev continues to counter with the left hand. Yarde’s mouthpiece is out and the fight is paused for a moment. Kovalev continues to patiently wait for opportunities to land the jab. Yarde is still unable to answer back after getting hit with the jab. Both men throw combinations at each other with Kovalev coming out on top.
Fightful scored round 6 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 7: Kovalev ducks under a left hook from Yarde and then lands another pair of jabs. Yarde misses with a combination and Kovalev connects with a three-punch combination of his own. Yarde lands a quick left hook to the body and is targeting the champion’s body. Kovalev lands a right hook upstairs to end the round.
Fightful scored round 7 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 8: Yarde is targeting Kovalev’s body a little more compared to previous rounds and Kovalev doesn’t react well to getting hit in the body. Yarde throws a couple of hooks upstairs. Kovalev lands a couple of jabs that split Yarde’s guard. Yarde throws a couple of hard jabs and Kovalev answers back with one of his own. Yarde hurts Kovalev with a big right hook and is having his way with Kovalev. Kovalev is hurt bad and trying to push Yarde down to avoid getting hit.
Fightful scored round 8 for Yarde 10-9
Round 9: Kovalev lands a couple of jabs and Yarde seems unfazed. Yarde is throwing hard jabs to the body and in control of the fight. Kovalev lands a right hook to Yarde’s ribs. Yarde connects with a short right uppercut to Kovalev’s body. Kovalev answers back with a series of jabs that has the Russian crowd on its feet. Kovalev throws a couple of shots to the body but Yarde shrugs it off. Kovalev lands a left jab late in the round.
Fightful scored round 9 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 10: Kovalev connects with a left jab and then a four-punch combination. Yarde is struggling to keep up with Kovalev as he is starting to get tired. Kovalev stuns Yarde and is landing short combinations to a tired Yarde. Kovalev connects with a 1-2 combination upstairs. The Russian champion has taken control of the fight.
Fightful scored round 10 for Kovalev 10-9
Round 11: Kovalev dominates the round and ends the fight with a massive left jab that knocks him out.
Official Result: Sergey Kovalev defeated Anthony Yarde by KO, round 11, 2:04 to retain the WBO light heavyweight title
