Turki Alalshikh revealed on social media today that David Benavidez will defend his WBC lightweight heavyweight title “Dangerous” Contender Anthony Yarde was in the match in Riyadh season in November.
Fans were disappointed with the news about Turki as they hoped he would face the next opponent of WBO interim champion Callum Smith’s “Mexican Monster” Benavidez.
Yarde is marked as “Um” The fans’ choice, they see a flawed fighter who fails in opposition to quality. He was inappropriate in his bid to win a talented world champion like Benavides.
Benavidez-Yarde battle confirmed
Yarde (27-3, 24 KO) challenged the world champion twice in his 10-year career, both times eliminated, losing to Artur Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev. The 33-year-old British fighter is Gatekeeper type fighter. He has good skills, but he lacks the talent to win a world championship.
Anthony is ranked #2 WBO, #4 WBA, #5 IBF and #5 WBC. This ranking shows more about the weakness of the lightweight heavyweight split than about Yarde’s talent level.
Yarde has won his last four battles against minor opposition since the 2023 unification 175-pound champion Beterbiev was eliminated in the eighth round. He has not stepped up his efforts since then. In Yarde’s final match, he defeated Brit Lyndon Arthur by a unanimous decision last April 12 rounds.
There is no explanation for why the battle didn’t happen, but it is reasonable to assume that Smith and his promoter Eddie Hearn chose not to participate in the adventure. He has the ability to challenge the winner of the trilogy competition between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Callum fights dangerous fighters like Benavidez and misses out on a bigger payday opportunity, which would be a bad career.
Benavidez: Gradually opponent?
Yarde was a big step for Benavidez in his battle with WBA “regular” lightweight heavyweight champion David Morrell in early February this year. Benavidez was punished by Cuban Morrell in this battle and was lucky to be able to pass it without being eliminated. Benavidez cheered on the championship game and was abandoned by Morrell.
Analyze Yarde’s goalkeeper identity
Like many Yarde’s fights, he looked early, but then burned in the midst of the fight, punching in the second half. He maintained his victory in his early lead. It’s not a good thing for Yarde and solidifies the view fans already have, a goalie-class fighter.
Yade’s last four battles
Lyndon Arthur
Ralph Wilkan
Marko Nikolic
Jorge Silva
“Mexican Monster” David Benavidez pic.twitter.com/dggd68snat
-turki alalshikh (@turki_alshikh) July 3, 2025
Last updated on July 3, 20125
