Tunde Ajayi hailed the “huge achievement”. anthony yardHis fight with Artur Beterbiev won him the Fight of the Year award from the British Boxing Board of Control.
In January 2023, it was Yarde's trainer and manager Ajayi who stepped in to save Yarde in the eighth round of a thrilling bout for the undefeated Beterbiev's IBF, WBO and WBC light heavyweight titles.
Beterbiev intends to fight fellow Russian Dmitriy Bivol for the undisputed title on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 32-year-old Yade also expected to fight. Joshua Buatsi Later that month, at a stadium in London.
Yarde was once seen as the underdog against Buatsi, but his performance against Beterbiev meant that the match was now considered the most competitive, and he was honored at the BBBC awards dinner. Watching his fighter receive the award and once again expressing disappointment at the loss, Ajayi said: [that could have won].
“It was last January.'' I spoke to [the retired super-middleweight champion] Richie Woodhall, and he said it had to be the best fight of last year. It's just for the excitement. A complete underdog mentality. The fact that he had only fought 12 bouts as an amateur and also fought another Russian.another [future] Hall of Fame player. Another generational champion. This is what dreams are made of.
“We should have won Fight of the Year. I'm very happy for him. We didn't win, but… [but] This is a great achievement for him. I'm making up for him. he deserves it. He is very hungry. The fact that the boxing community recognizes him, that's what matters. Nothing could make him happier. ”
Bouatsi, 31, impressed when he won a unanimous decision over fellow London light heavyweight Dan Aziz in February, and by then Ajayi knew his main fighter was on his way to fighting Bouatsi. “It was a good match for the fans. It was a good fight. It was a lot of fun. Credit to both players – it was a good match.
“In terms of being impressed, to be honest, I’ve always been impressed with Joshua Bouatsi because I know what he can do. Aziz fight – mutual thing It made the fight a little bit easier because we had two good fighters who knew each other well. When two fighters spar with each other, they always have a It exists above. In that context, they looked like they were actually going for it at times, and that's what made it a great fight. It was a great fight. Buatsi impressed me. but Dan has impressed me before [then]”
