ANTHONY YARDE has no fear taking on big-punching Artur Beterbiev after facing down guns on London streets.
The 31-year-old from Hackney grew up among deprivation and crime, with his childhood home brushed into the shadows of the flashy Westfield shopping centre in Stratford.
Stabbings and robberies were commonplace until boxing helped lift the light-heavyweight ace up and out of a perilous environment.
But his life is in danger again tonight as he takes on the 18-0 WBC, IBF and WBO champ Beterbiev, who has battered all his victims inside the distance and starves himself three days out from a fight to make himself as angry as possible.
Yarde has shown no sign of nerves in the build-up to the Wembley Arena showdown and explains that flying bullets are much scarier than fists.
Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years
After staring down the bearded caveman that is Beterbiev, 38, he revealed: “It’s different. We are talking in terms of fear and I don’t fear anybody.
“There’s no person in this world I fear because of certain situations I’ve been in and grown up around.
“I’ve been approached by people with guns, I’ve had loads of boys around me with knives trying to stab me, getting ready to rob me.
“I’ve been in certain scary situations, your heart is beating and you can’t go outside because madness is going to happen. This is me being paid to fight — and I like fighting!
“For someone who has come from where I have, this is special. I’m here to seize the moment.”
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
Brave Brit Callum Johnson was bludgeoned inside four rounds by the Canada-based Chechen in 2018, labelling him a ‘pound-for-pound killer, an animal, a monster’.
The Bond-villain accent, bear-like hair and thirst for blood make Beterbiev a frightening force.
But Yarde reckons he has the chin and characteristics to win this war of the whiskers.
Under a perfectly manicured moustache, he explained: “There’s nobody on this planet who can have his record and do what he’s done and be nothing to worry about.
Robbie Williams poised to launch his own brand of energy drinks to rival Prime
“I’ve seen little clips of him, he’s done basic things very well. Clearly he hits hard but the little things he does do, he does well and he does them repeatedly.
“He’s got a good engine but, at the same time, he gets hit. I’m not a person you can stand there and get hit by. It’s exciting.
“I’ll admit he’s got a better beard than me. I can’t grow a beard like that. I’ve got to give myself a trimming and a grooming before the fight.”
Yarde is the 6-1 longshot with even his diehard fans giving him only a puncher’s chance.
But he is refusing to dwell on the enormity of the task ahead — and will only look back at bashing Beterbiev and the bookies once he has secured the belts.
He said: “I’ve not looked at the odds. There’s certain things I don’t pay attention to, it can distract you, it can take away your focus, it can make you overcompensate.
“Someone can come and tell you stuff but sometimes I’m a bit dismissive.
“I’m like, ‘ah, keep it to yourself, I don’t care’. I’d rather find out after the fight.
“You can hear something and it will play on your mind. It’s just human nature but certain things don’t matter.
“The only thing that matters to me is when we both step into the ring, the bell goes ding, ding, ding and we start shimmying. That is all that matters.”
