ANTHONY YARDE wants to turn Lyndon Arthur’s lights off tonight after taking inspiration from Take Me Out star Paddy McGuinness.
The always-upbeat light-heavyweight endured a heartbreaking start to the year, losing his father and three grandparents in just six tragic months.
Anthony Yarde is taking inspiration from Take Me Out host Paddy McGuinnessCredit: The Sun
But Yarde, 29, still beat Dec Spelman in September and now has a date with Manchester’s 17-0 underdog.
And the Ilford KO artist has leaned on the show-must-go-on attitude of dating show, catchphrase king McGuinness.
The 20-1 ace said: “I look at other entertainers, not just boxers, as a template.
“If you think of someone with big energy like Paddy from Take Me Out. If he were to show he was down, people would say ‘what’s going on here?’
“People don’t really take into consideration what he might be going through.
“It’s the same with boxing and boxing is more serious. It’s unforgiving. People don’t care about excuses.”
Yarde recently moved his camp from Peacock Gym in Canning Town to Box Up Crime — a training and charity base he is the face of, which is close to his home and heart.
The sweatbox is rammed with boisterous kids in the day but after hours it is a place for Yarde to take five.
He said: “I’m there like a counsellor explaining about things which happen in life.
“I use examples of people in other countries who go through crazy tragedies, wars — and they just have to get on with it.
“When I do sit down and think about it, I do get emotional. It does get overwhelming, but the job must go on, that’s just life.”
Arthur, like Yarde, has emerged from a gang-plagued part of the country, but neither has any interest in bad blood.
The Pat Barrett-trained ace, 29, said: “Anthony is cool, he’s one of the boys.
“There’s no animosity — we saw each other out in Manchester and it was nothing but love.
“But now we are going into battle, it’s war time.”
Anthony Yarde vs Lyndon Arthur UK start time, free live stream and TV channel
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
