On Saturday, November 22, as part of the Riyadh Season, a great boxing gala will be held at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, one of the best of the year with four world championships, the main event being the fight between the WBC light heavyweight world champion, American David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), in the first defense of his title against England’s Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs). The four-belt champion, Russia’s Dmitry Bivol, relinquished the WBC title because he wanted to face Artur Beterbiev again and interim champion David Benavidez was elevated to full champion.
This great Miami-based fighter, who was also a world super middleweight champion, spoke exclusively to MARCA to talk about the big fight that awaits him. “Anthony Yarde is strong, a good fighter, a puncher and has great experience as he has faced boxers such as Beterbiev or Kovalev, but I have been training for four and a half months and I will do what I usually do, I will put in a lot of combinations, I will work his body, see what he has and what he brings, and I will give a good fight to the public,” Benavidez said of his opponent.
Against Anthony Yarde I will throw a lot of combinations, I will work his body, see what he has and what he brings, and I will give a good fight to the public
Gaining weight?
After being super middleweight (168 lbs) champion and now moving up to light heavyweight (175 lbs), there is the question of whether he will continue to move up in division. “I feel very good at light heavyweight, I am strong and fast, there are great boxers and I am very motivated. But I could move up to cruiserweight (200 lbs) to face Mexican champion Gilberto Ramirez. There is talk of May 5 in Las Vegas, it would be an extraordinary fight. I want to be a great champion and I take all the opportunities. But first, Anthony Yarde,” said the boxer nicknamed “Red Flag” or “Monster”.
I could move up to cruiserweight (90.7 kg) to face Mexican champion Gilberto Ramirez
The prestigious magazine ‘The Ring’ has a ranking of the best current boxers of all weights, the famous pound-for-pound list, in which Benavidez is ranked ninth, and he respects it. “I have to win more belts, more titles, I want to be number one,” he said. But he acknowledges that they are right with the place of honor for Terence Crawford. “I think so, he deserves it, he has beaten Canelo Alvarez and has dominated several weight classes.” Four boxers are his favorites at the moment. “The ones I like the most are Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk, Gervonta Davis and of course Terence Crawford,” he said.
“The ones I like the most are Naoya Inoue, Oleksandr Usyk, Gervonta Davis and, of course, Terence Crawford.”
He understands tough fights, but he believes that the most complicated one to date was the last one in February against Cuban David Morrell, whom he was able to beat on points, even though he fell to the canvas in the eleventh round. “Yes, it was the hardest, and also very entertaining for the fans, if they want us to repeat it, we will do it”. But what he would most like now is to unify the light heavyweight category and win all four belts. He has one, Dmitry Bivol has the other three. “It’s my dream, it used to be to unify the super middleweight division, but the fight with Canelo couldn’t happen, now it would be to do it in the light heavyweight division.” He believes that Bivol is the most difficult of the main ones in the division. “Bivol is the most complicated, he moves a lot, he uses the whole ring. Beterbiev is difficult too, but I think I can beat both of them. First I focus on Anthony Yarde and then I think we could have a fight against one of them.”
“Bivol is the most complicated, he moves a lot, he uses the whole ring. Beterbiev is difficult too, but I think I can beat both of them.”
Canelo, almost forgotten
He acknowledges that he has already forgotten about Canelo Alvarez. “It was a very good fight for the public but Canelo was not very interested, and although I do not rule it out, now I am focused on light heavyweight and cruiserweight,” he said. And he doubts Canelo Alvarez’s intentions. “I don’t know what he’s looking for, if he wants money and people’s respect he should face me. I’m not saying he’s afraid of me, but I’m ready and if we face each other I will beat him,” he said. In fact, it’s one of his dream fights. “The fights I would like to do now are against Canelo, Beterbiev or Bivol,” he said.
My dream would be to coach my two sons and make them world champions
We asked him for a prediction on his fight against Yarde. “At this level it is difficult to knock out your opponents, but if I do my job well I will win before the limit.” He is 28 years old and has 30 professional fights under his belt, and he believes he has a lot left in the ring. “I feel good, I think I have ten more years in boxing.” He would like to dedicate himself to training after his career. “I already train my five-year-old son and my dream would be to train my two sons and make them world champions”. A great boxer and a cordial, prudent, and intelligent person in and out of the ring.
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