Inking his way
Yarde’s quietly to world crown
EXCLUSIVE
ANTHONY YARDE’S body art tell his life story – and serves as a warning to opponents that he will never back down.
That will be the message from the 25-year-old Londoner to Hungary’s Richard Baranyi this week as he prepares to face him at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday for the WBO light-heavyweight crown.
Yarde said: “Every tattoo I’ve got is about a different stage in my life.
“One of my first tattoos was, ‘I Do What I Want’ – I was in a rebel stage then.
“Another says, ‘In life you go through different struggles but how you deal with them is who you are’.
“And 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 going to go down the stealing route, but I knew I had to look after my mum.
“I was the only male figure in the house and I thought, ‘If I end up in prison, then who is going to look after my mum?’
“A friend had everything laid on a plate for him, but he still went down the wrong path.
“His phrase was, ‘I’m giving up’, so I had the tattoo ‘Never Quit’.
“My latest tattoo is a pair of boxing gloves on my arm.
“They’re like memories of my life and the reason I like them is that we had a fire at my house, the house literally burnt to nothing, and all of the photos of my childhood were destroyed.
“I look at my tattoos and they remind me of the stages of my life.”
Yarde does not hide his tough upbringing, but he has used boxing as a positive force and is now forging a promising career.
He has won his first 11 fights in the paid ranks – 10 of them by a knockout.
Defeating 26-year-old Baranyi, who has won 18 fights and lost one, would continue his 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.
“But boxing is about discipline.
“Back in those days, I had nothing to lose – but now I have something
to lose.”