Anthony has to bring out box of tricks

THERE is a lot at stake for Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur tonight in their Copper Box rematch.

It’s almost like a game of snakes and ladders for the most talented bunch of light heavyweights this country has seen since John Conteh ruled the roost.

Joshua Buatsi, Callum Smith and Craig Richards will all be looking on with interest to see how this plays out.

The victor is likely to challenge the winner of Callum Johnson and WBO champion Joe Smith Jnr, who meet next month. The loser risks falling to the bottom of the pile.

What I see when I look at Yarde is a fighter who can reach another level. But he has to bring it. I think he can but that does not mean Arthur is going to stand still.

He has the tools to repeat the shock win he inflicted a year ago (top).

Yarde was out-boxed and out-thought in that first meeting. He needs to get those combinations off and dominate rather than walk into jab after jab.

You have to be unpredictable, to vary your attacks and most importantly, hit with your own jab to the point of overuse.

If you don’t hit with the jab you can’t land the right hand effectively. So Yarde has to be better at being aggressive.

He was aggressive last time but not intelligently. He was one-dimensional, one-paced and easy to read. That’s why he lost.

Arthur (inset) does not have to do anything differently. He will just try to do what he did last time.

He said he had problems with his shoulder which meant he could not throw the right hand.

That is certainly how it looked to me. He was still able to control the fight with his jab. If his right hand was a problem and is now healed, then Yarde has got a bigger hill to climb than he had last December.

If Yarde sets out with more aggression but ultimately falls into the same pattern he will meet with the same outcome.

I don’t think that will happen. He knows he has to be sharper and more inventive and has to take Arthur out of his comfort zone.

Arthur is tough, talented and will not be fazed by anything Yarde brings. I still fancy Yarde to prevail but would not be surprised to see Arthur’s hand raised a second time.