Reeves Suffers Fifth-Round TKO In England!

Baltimore, MD light heavyweight Travis "Seveer" Reeves lost by fifth-round knockout to undefeated Anthony Yarde of Ilford, Essex, England Friday night at Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, MD.  The bout was shown in the United States on Espn+.

Here is a report on the bout from Steve Bateson of Secondsout.com:

At the opening bell it was once again apparent just how big Yarde was in comparison to his opponent, Yarde is known to struggle with 175lbs, and although Reeves gave a very game performance he was nowhere physically capable of putting a dent in the "Beast from the East."

Yarde sank a right to the body after a cuffing left hook to the top of the head and another big time right hand had Reeves backing off. The American tried to answer back with shots of his own but they just seemed to bounce of Yarde’s huge frame.

Reeves did have success at times and landed more shots than anyone has to this date on Yarde but one has to wonder is that down to poor defence or the fact Yarde knew he couldn’t be hurt. A right hand in the second did momentarily stiffen Reeves’ legs but he quickly recovered despite also receiving a thudding left hook to the body.

Yarde showed patience as Reeves tries to frustrate him and get on the inside, working to the body, but every time he landed his power punches it was clear that he was having an effect on the visitor. Reeves deserves credit for his heart and grit but he wasn’t winning a round.

One thing to note is Yarde’s lack of jab, he instead chooses to adopt a lead left hook in order to prise his openings. Against the elite level at 175lbs that will not be possible, he is going to need to work on that fundamental skill because otherwise he is going to have a lot of trouble when challenging for the biggest prizes.

The end came in the fifth when a giant right hand finally buckled the legs of Reeves and sent him back to the ropes. Yarde followed up with another right hand and another left hook that prompted the referee to throw himself into the mix and stop the bout there and then.


The bout was stopped at 48 seconds of the fifth round.  With the loss, Reeves drops to 17-4-2, seven KO's while Yarde remains undefeated at 18-0, 17 KO's and looks to gain a world title shot against the WBO Light Heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev.