David Benavidez says he’s going to “dominate” Anthony Yarde with the “game plan” he’ll follow this Saturday night, on November 22nd, in Riyadh. He wants to avoid taking punishment in this fight. So, he’ll be showing a look different from what fans have gotten used to.
(Credit: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)
WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) and Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) will meet in the main event at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. This fight could prove to be more difficult for Benavidez than his previous one against David Morrell on February 1st, 2025.
Opportunities to Hurt Yarde
“I’ll dominate like I do in every fight. I’m going to follow my game plan, but I see a lot of opportunities of me hurting Anthony Yarde,” said David Benavidez to DAZN Boxing at the Grand Arrivals today in Riyadh, talking about his fight this Saturday.
Yarde isn’t going to go down with a hard fight, and he might get lucky and hurt Benavidez or even knock him out. The shots that he’s hit his recent opponents would be difficult for Benavidez to take, especially if he’s weight drained.
“So, I’ve got to follow the game plan and when I see the opportunities, go for it. Yeah, that’s exactly the plan,” said Benavidez when asked if his strategy is to bully his way in to become the ‘Mexican Face of Boxing.’ I know the only way of doing that is to get the hard fights.”
If Benavidez is going to become the Mexican Face of Boxing, he’s going to have to take risks with his career by moving up in weight. There aren’t enough big names for him to fight at 175 that are young.
“I’m not shying away from no hard fight. I want Beterbiev. I want Bivol. I want Zurdo Ramirez, and maybe Jai Opetaia in the future,” said Benavidez.
He’s going to have to line up the fights against Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol as soon as possible because those two won’t be around too much longer. Beterbiev is 40 and has become injury-prone in the last year. Bivol turns 35 next month on December 18th, and he’s coming off back surgery.
If Benavidez can’t get those fights, he should move up to cruiserweight and face Zurdo Ramirez and Jai Opetaia in 2026. With Benavidez’s size, he can move up to heavyweight and go after the champions, Fabio Wardley and Oleksandr Usyk. He’s more than big enough to carry the weight.
