Yarde Seeks Revenge: World Championship Challenge against Benavidez

Anthony Yarde Seeks World Glory in His Third Attempt

Anthony Yarde is preparing for his third opportunity to be crowned world light heavyweight champion. After two previous attempts, Yarde assures that this time will be different and that he is ready for the challenge. Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) suffered defeats against Artur Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev in 2023 and 2019 respectively, but has rebuilt his career. On Saturday, he will face American David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) for the WBC title in Saudi Arabia. Although starting as the underdog, as in his fights against Beterbiev and Kovalev, Yarde trusts in his improvement. The London boxer, 34 years old, was stopped by Beterbiev in the eighth round and lasted 11 rounds against Kovalev.

I’m tired of being the one who puts up great fights, but loses. I need to win this one and break the bets.

Anthony Yarde

Yarde emphasizes that experience is the key to his evolution. He believes that if he fought Beterbiev again, the result would be different. He highlights that he has learned to control the pace of the fight, knowing when to accelerate and when to retreat. Yarde believes that his fight against Beterbiev exposed certain weaknesses, which may have influenced Dmitry Bivol’s decision to face Beterbiev.

Benavidez, who will defend his title for the first time against Yarde in Riyadh, does not have the same knockout power as Beterbiev or Kovalev, but Yarde respects him. In his last fight, Benavidez overcame a late knockdown to win by unanimous decision against David Morell.

On paper he’s not as dangerous as Beterbiev or Kovalev, but you don’t know how dangerous a puncher is until you get in the ring with him.

Anthony Yarde

Yarde has won four fights since his defeat against Beterbiev, and his last fight was in April, where he defeated Lyndon Arthur. Yarde sees this fight as an opportunity to change his life.