David Benavidez made easy work of Anthony Yarde to retain his WBC light heavyweight world title on Saturday night in Riyadh.
It was all Benavidez in the opening round, with ‘El Monstro’ landing left hands practically at will. Yarde bounced back somewhat in the second, boxing behind his jab and nearly catching Benavidez with a right hand late in the stanza.
After dominating the next few rounds, Benavidez really started to open up in the sixth, busting Yarde’s nose. The injury appeared to be bothering Yarde, which prompted Benavidez to unleash a flurry of strikes against the ring ropes. Yarde survived the onslaught, but left the commentary team wondering how much longer his chin would hold up against the heavy favorite.
Before the beginning of the seventh, a cut near Yarde’s right eye was inspected by the ringside physician. The fight was allowed to continue, but it felt like it was just a matter of time before Yarde would go down.
Near the one-minute mark of the round, Yarde went down, but Benavidez was deducted a point after landing a blow while Yarde was considered down.
In the end, the penalty would not make a difference as Benavidez unleashed a flurry of strikes, blasting Yarde with a nasty left hand that prompted the referee to step in and bring a merciful end to the clash.
Official Result: David Benavidez def. Anthony Yarde via TKO at 1:59 of Round 7 to retain the WBC light heavyweight world championship.
