By Boxing Bob Newman
The “Mexican Monster” David Benavidez imposed his will on three-time title challenger Anthony Yarde to force a TKO7 to retain his WBC/WBA (regular) light heavyweight titles in Riyadh Saturday.
Slowly but surely, Benavidez broke Yarde down round by round, damaging his right eye and bloodying his nose profusely. Finally in round 7, Benavidez dropped Yarde with a flurry, hitting Yarde when he was down and losing a point as a result. It was all academic moments later as a followup flurry prompted referee Hector Afu to jump in a save Yarde from further punishment. Benavides improves to 31-0, 25 KOs. The hard luck Yarde falls to 27-4, 24 KOs. Benavidez confirmed afterwards that he will be fighting WHA/WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2026.
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