When he wants to do so, British 175 pounder Anthony Yarde can go into the trenches and play his part in a great action fight, win or lose. We didn’t see that version of Yarde last time out, this when the 33 year old boxed his trilogy fight with Lyndon Arthur. The rubber-match that took place back in April was pretty much a snoozer, with Yarde failing to thrill the fans but going home with the decision win in any case.
Now, Yarde wants to go into warrior mode, or, as he put it himself, into “shootout” mode, this when he challenges the feared and avoided (by you know who) David Benavidez in November. Speaking with The Ring, Yarde, 27-3(24) said he will stand right there and go to war with Benavidez, who he is sure will adopt the same approach when they fight in Riyadh.
“Let’s have a shootout, give me a shootout,” Yarde said when referencing his upcoming date with “The Mexican Monster.”
“I will stand in the middle, he will stand in the middle, and we’ll have a shootout. I respect David Benavidez, and if he don’t respect me already I’m sure after the fight he will have to respect me.”
Benavidez, unbeaten at 30-0(24) may or may not respect Yarde, but we know the reigning WBC light heavyweight champ never backs down from any fighter he shares a ring with. If Yarde is as good as his word and he does stand right there in the pocket in an effort at punching away with Benavidez, well, we could get a great fight. For as long as it lasts.
Is there any way the Benavidez-Yarde fight – the two having a combined 48 KO’s with 24 each – goes the distance? Here’s betting not too many fans will place such a wager on the fight when it rolls around. Someone is getting KO’d or stopped here, and the odds, along with the lion’s share of the experts, say it will be Yarde. But in no way can Yarde be written off here. Not at all.