David Benavidez says his goal is to do a better job beating Anthony Yarde than former light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev did when they defeated him. ‘The Mexican Monster’ sounds insecure with his need to one-up what those two talents did against Yarde.
Benavidez Chasing Validation
Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is defending his WBC 175-lb title against Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) this Saturday, November 22nd, on Ring IV at the ANB Arena in Riyadh.
Beterbiev knocked out Yarde in the eighth round on January 28th, 2023. He was ahead on two of the scorecards when Beterbiev knocked him out in round eight. Yarde hurt Beterbiev at one point in that fight. Kovalev knocked out Yarde in the 11th round on August 24, 2019. That was a situation in which Yarde gassed out late and was stopped by a hard jab from Kovalev.
“That’s why I prepared so hard for this fight, because in his head, he’s probably thinking this is his last opportunity. So, he’ll be very dangerous,” said David Benavidez to the Daily Mail Boxing about Anthony Yarde.
Yarde Isn’t a Soft Target
Anthony always gives his best in fights. It has nothing to do with this being potentially his last chance. Yarde will be coming to like always and will be trying to knock out Benavidez. If ‘The Mexican Monster’ isn’t at his best in this fight, he could be the one losing on Saturday night in their headliner.
Benavidez says he’s going to be more defensively-minded in this fight. However, it’s going to be hard for him to do that if he wants to get Yarde out faster than Beterbiev and Kovalev did. He won’t be able to outdo those two fighters’ performances if he fights defensively, trying to turn over a new leaf.
Obviously, Benavidez is starting to realize that he won’t be able to continue fighting the way he used to when he was still campaigning at 168. He doesn’t have the power in his punches at 175, and he’s taking a lot of punishment against the more powerful punchers in the light heavyweight division.
A Shootout Benavidez Can’t Control
“So, this is probably going to be the best Anthony Yarde we’ve ever seen. So, I have to be prepared for something like that; my defense has to be on point. My power has got to be on point, and I’ve got to take control of the fight early on,” said Benavidez.
If Benavidez is going to “take control” early on, it means he’s going to be going to war with Yarde. There’s no chance that he can dominate a puncher like Yarde right off the bat without trading with him and taking massive shots. It’s going to be interesting to see how well Benavidez stands up to Yarde’s shots in the first four rounds. He was hurt by David Morrell in the second round of their fight earlier this year on February 1st. Yarde is just as good a puncher as the Cuban Morrell, and he’s going to be bringing fire from the get-go.
Insecurity in the Air
“When you see Anthony Yarde, when he gets a hot streak, he gets a lot of confidence. He has good skills. He has a good left hook, and he has good defense. Also, by saying that, I want to show what level I’m on,” said Benavidez.
Beterbiev Set the Bar High
Yarde looked dangerous even when he was getting overwhelmed with punches in his loss to Beterbiev. He was catching Artur with left hooks that were stunning him. If not for Beterbiev having such a good chin, Yarde would have pulled off an upset in that fight because he had him hurt.
“I saw him give a great fight to Kovalev. He gave a great fight to Artur Beterbiev. So, I kind of want to show I’m a great fighter too, and I want to do even better than Beterbiev and Kovalev,” said Benavidez.