Benavidez Stops Yarde in Seventh, Retains WBC Light Heavyweight Title
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – David Benavidez retained his WBC light heavyweight title Saturday, stopping Anthony Yarde in the seventh round of a brutal contest. The fight was halted after a sustained barrage of punches left Yarde bloodied and unable to continue, marking his third defeat in a world championship bout.
The loss is a critically important setback for yarde, 34, who had hoped to claim his first world title after previous challenges against Sergey Kovalev (2019) and Artur Beterbiev (2022) ended unsuccessfully. Benavidez, 28, demonstrated his power and control, improving to 31 wins with 25 knockouts and signaling a potential move to the cruiserweight division.
After a cautious opening, Benavidez began to impose his will, culminating in a dominant seventh round. A flurry of punches sent Yarde to the canvas, and despite briefly continuing, another heavy attack prompted the referee to intervene with one minute remaining in the round.
“I stuck in there. I’m a fighter,” Yarde told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I felt like it was competitive. I know how he comes with good pressure. I was boxing, boxing, thinking middle rounds, the dog rounds, we would exchange. He has speedy hands, caught me first and hit me with a good shot on the nose. When I took a knee and he hit me when I was down, I was dizzy after that.”
Benavidez was penalized two points for hitting Yarde while he was down, but the outcome was already largely decided. Following the victory, Benavidez announced his intention to challenge Gilberto Ramirez for the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles on May 2nd, with the goal of becoming a three-weight world champion.
