David Benavidez says he’s not going to brawl with Anthony Yarde in their fight this Saturday night, on November 22nd, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. He states that he has learned from his two previous fights since moving up to light heavyweight that he cannot simply walk fighters down and bang them out, as he’d done at 168.
Benavidez Tries the “New Me” Routine
WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) plans on setting up his knockout by jabbing and boxing Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) to wear him down in their headliner on DAZN PPV.
“He has good power in both hands. But nonetheless, he got stopped in both fights,” said David Benavidez to Fight Hub TV, talking about Anthony Yarde’s two fights in which he challenged for world titles against Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev in the past.
If Benavidez had an issue with Yarde being his opponent, he should have told Turki Alalshikh he wouldn’t fight him. This is a voluntary defense for Benavidez. He didn’t have to take this fight, as there were other, more formidable opponents he could have fought, like a rematch with David Morrell, Joshua Buatsi, Imam Khataev, and Be Whittaker.
“I feel like if he were a good fighter, he’d have been a world champion already if he was on that caliber. I’ve shown that I’m on that caliber. I’ve been a world champion since I was 20. I have multiple titles,” said Benavidez.
Benavidez’s Champion Resume Examined
- Ronald Gavril (September 8, 2017) – WBC super middleweight title
- Anthony Dirrell (September 28, 2019) – WBC 168-lb belt (second reign)
- David Morrell (February 1, 2025) – WBA (Regular) light heavyweight title
- Elevated (April 7, 2025) – WBC light heavyweight title after Dmitry Bivol vacated
Of the three fighters Benavidez beat to become world champion, Morrell stands out as the best. That was not an easy win for him. The judges scored it 118-108, 115-111, and 115-111. Morrell staggered Benavidez twice and dropped him in the 11th round.
The Temper That Betrays Him
“I’ve taken this guy very serious. You can’t go in there and brawl, brawl, brawl. You’ve got to set the knockouts up. I put together a great game. If that doesn’t work, we can make it an all-out war,” said Benavidez about his fight with Yarde.
It’s unlikely Benavidez can change his style of fighting for this match. He’s a brawler, and he doesn’t have a long game. He’s a combination puncher who focuses on his hand speed and punch output. He’s not going to fight Yarde from the outside. Even if that’s Benavidez’s game plan, he’ll revert to his old style once he starts getting hit. He’s got a temper on him and fights with emotion.