Yarde: I’ll shut this Bar down
ANTHONY YARDE’S body art tells his life story — and serves as a warning to opponents that he will never back down.
That’s the message from the Londoner to Hungary’s Richard Baranyi ahead of their showdown for the WBO European lightheavyweight crown, at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday.
Yarde, 25, said: “Every tattoo I’ve got is about a different stage in my life.
“I have a tattoo on my neck that says, ‘Never Quit’. I had it done at a time when I thought I was going to give up.
“I was heading down the stealing route, but I knew I had to look after my mum.
“My latest tattoo is a pair of boxing gloves — they’re like memories of my life.”
Yarde has won his first 11 professional fights — 10 of them by knockout — and a victory over 26-year-old Baranyi, who has won 18 fights and lost one, will continue the trajectory towards the world stage.
Yarde added: “Growing up, I had a reputation on the streets for having a hard punch and was knocking out grown men.
“I was getting off a bus with a mate one night and there was a guy behind us and we got into a bit of an argument because he was so close to me.
“He told me to shut up and raised his hands.
“The bus was still there and I said loudly, ‘Everyone can see this man is threatening me, I was walking away but he came after me’ – and I hit him.
“The police sorted things out and I went home without any fuss. But that’s when people started talking about me knocking out people.
“I’d just walk away from that now.
“In those days, I had nothing to lose. Now I have something to lose.”