David Benavidez says he welcomes a “shootout” against Anthony Yarde this Saturday night. He states that if Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) wants to brawl, he’ll oblige him because he wants to entertain the fans in their 12-round bout on November 22nd on DAZN PPV at the ANB Arena in Riyadh.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
Over 200 lbs to 175: The Toll
Benvidez looks like the weight cut to get to 175 is taking a lot out of him this week. He has a boiled-down appearance, suggesting he started his weight cut at over 200 lbs.
Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) hopes that a victory over Yarde will lead to him fighting one of these three next:
- Artur Beterbiev
- Dmitry Bivol
- Canelo Alvarez
Although one can’t rule out the possibility of Benavidez finally getting the Canelo fight that he’s been asking for all these years, it’s unlikely to happen. There was an opportunity when Turki Alalshikh paid Canelo $150 million last September, but it was wasted on a fight against Terence Crawford. He should have used the money to have Canelo face Benavidez.
Still Pushing for Canelo After Five Years
It would be healthier for Benavidez to forget about Canelo, as he’s sounded obsessed with him in the last five years. He’s pursued that fight too much, and he’s pushed Alvarez away with his neediness. Benavidez has been too fixated on the Mexican star, and it’s had the reverse effect.
It’s way too early for WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez to be targeting fights against IBF, WBA, and WBO 175-lb champion Bivol or Beterbiev. Those two still need to heal up and fight their trilogy match. It’s already been 9 months since they last fought, and it may take even longer for them to get healthy enough to fight again.
“On the other side of this is Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and hopefully even a Canelo in the future,” said David Benavidez to Queensberry about what he hopes a victory over Anthony Yarde will lead to.
Benavidez should keep his focus on the task at hand and not overlook the dangerous puncher, Yarde. ‘The Mexican Monster’ has looked far from invincible in his two fights at 175 against David Morrell and Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
He may have a warped view of how he’s been performing since moving up to light heavyweight, because he’s taken a career’s worth of punishment in those fights.
If Yarde can stand up to Benavidez’s high-volume machine-gun combinations long enough to get his pound of flesh, he could knock him out late when he gasses out. David faded in both of his fights at 175, and he looks even more drained this time.
“It’s going to be ‘The Monster’ taking out the lion,” said Benavidez on how he views his fight with Yarde. “Beating the s*** out of everybody,” said Benavidez on what it means to be ‘The Monster.’ “To me, I feel I’m the more intelligent fighter and on a different level than Anthony Yarde. I’ve shown I’m on a higher pedigree.
Has Benavidez Learned Anything?
“I know Anthony Yarde is going to throw some big shots. If he wants a shootout, we can do a shootout. This does not scare me. This is the type of fight I want,” said Benavidez.
Benavidez sounds confused. On the one hand, he’s talking about changing his style to show more intelligence and avoid taking punishment like he’s been taking since moving up to 175. But on the other hand, he’s talking about how he’ll gladly involve himself in a “shootout” if that’s what Yarde wants. He’s not learning from his past.
Sooner or later, Benavidez is going to get knocked out if he doesn’t adapt his fighting style. It might happen this Saturday because Yarde is going to be coming after him full bore, looking to finish what Morrell started last February.
“This is going to be the start of my dominance in the light heavyweight division,” said Benavidez.