Connect with us

Boxing

Anthony Yarde is hoping that the third time will be the charm in David Benavidez’s world title fight

Published

8 months ago

on

Anthony Yarde has been here twice before, but he claims he will be better in his third attempt at winning the lithe heavyweight world title on Saturday.

After hard-fought fights in both fights, Yarde (27-3, 24 KO) was stopped in 2023 and 2019, respectively, by Russians Artur Beterbiev and Sergei Kovalev. After these failures, the English boxer rebuilt his career and on Saturday in Saudi Arabia he will face American David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KO) for the WBC belt.

Much like when he faced the formidable Beterbiev and Kovalev, Yarde will be an underdog this weekend, but he believes he has improved since those defeats. Yarde, 34, from east London, was stopped in eight rounds by Beterbiev in three versions of the world title, after 11 rounds against Kovalev. It was Beterbiev’s 19th KO in as many fights, but at the time of the break Yarde had the advantage on two of the three scorecards.

“I’m tired of being the guy who gives people great fights but loses,” Yarde told ESPN. “I have to win this and upset the odds.

“The main difference between me who fought Beterbiev and Kovalev and me now is experience. If I fought Beterbiev again, I feel I would beat him. Fighting him has undoubtedly helped me become a better fighter.”

“You’ll have to wait and see how I’ve improved. I believe experience made the difference in both fights with Kovalev and Beterbiev, and I gained experience in those fights. You’ll see a better version of me in this fight. I know when to step on the gas and when to hold off.”

“I learned a lot from the fight with Beterbiev. He’s a dog, but I learned that I’m a dog too – it’s one of the scariest punches in boxing and it was a fierce fight. I think because of my fight with Beterbiev [WBO, WBA, IBF world champion] Dmitry Bivol decided to fight Beterbiev, seeing loopholes he could exploit. I think I exposed a lot in the Beterbiev fight because up until that point we had never seen him get hit as stiff or pushed as stiff as I could.

Both Kovalev and Beterbiev were wary of punches when Yarde faced them, having a higher KO rate than Benavidez, who will make his first title defense against the Londoner in Riyad. In his last fight in February, Benavidez recovered from a overdue knockdown to win a unanimous decision over David Morell.

“On paper he’s not as threatening as Beterbiev or Kovalev, but you don’t know how threatening a punch someone is until you get in the ring with them,” Yarde told ESPN.

– 25 best fighters under 25 in boxing: Itauma, Norman, Mason, Fundora and others

– Paul vs. Joshua: Everything you need to know about the boxing match

– Jake Paul’s modern fight wishlist: Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia and more

“When I fought him, Beterbiev was known for being a terrible puncher, and Kovalev had a very high knockout rate. But I hold David and his fight-anyone mentality in high regard, as does mine. He looked fantastic in some fights and ordinary in others, but he still came out victorious. We had respect outside the ring and I like him as a person, and when I respect an opponent like that, that’s when I get the best out of me.”

Yarde has won four fights since losing to Beterbiev and was last dropped in April when he defeated Lyndon Arthur by unanimous decision in a trilogy fight.

“After everything I’ve been through in my life, this fight could change my life,” Yarde told ESPN.

“I put my foot down in the later rounds, Lyndon was very fit, he was in great shape and he has since won the European title, so it was a good win but I can improve on it.”

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Boxing

Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshuas Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns

Published

1 day ago

on

July 25, 2026

By

"Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshua's Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns"

Oleksandr Usyk has shared his reaction to Anthony Joshua‘s dramatic knockout victory against Kristian Prenga.

Usyk nearly suffered his own shock defeat in May when he was pushed to the limit by kickboxing star Rico Verhoevenand two months on it was nrw teammate Joshua’s turn to come close to a massive upset loss that would have stunned the heavyweight division.

The Brit was dropped twice by massive underdog Prenga in the opening round of their clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but ‘AJ’ managed to recover and record a big knockdown of his own in the second round that resulted in the stoppage victory.

Joshua and Usyk now train together, having famously had two battles for the unified world heavyweight title in 2021 and 2022, and the Ukrainian has had his say on his stablemate’s victory over Prenga.

Speaking to TalkSporttwo-time undisputed champion Usyk praised Joshua, insisting ‘AJ is back’ before predicting that Joshua will now claim a knockout win over long-term rival Tyson Fury in his next bout.

“Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion. First round it’s a test but AJ is back.

It’s boxing, [the] big upper cut is good, it’s a knockdown. AJ [come] back and win.

“Greedy Belly [Fury] will speak now and say weak chin, Greedy Belly get out. AJ wins [against Fury], [he will] knock him out.”

Fury was victorious on Friday as he earned a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach in Thailand, paving the way for the showdown against Joshua later this year.

Continue Reading

Boxing

Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshuas Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns

Published

1 day ago

on

July 25, 2026

By

"Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshua's Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns"

Jake Paul was the last man to fight Anthony Joshua and he has now revealed his verdict on AJ’s chaotic victory over Kristian Prenga.

Joshua went up against Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturdayin a clash that was expected to be a comfortable win for the former world heavyweight champion in order to set up the long overdue battle against Tyson Fury.

Any hopes of seeing that clash were nearly ended after AJ was dropped twice in the opening round of the bout, though he was able to recover and claim the second round knockout to come out on top and prevent a stunning shock upset from taking place.

Saturday’s outing saw Joshua back in the ring for the first time since his sixth round triumph over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul back in Decemberand now ‘The Problem Child’ himself has shared his reaction to his former rival’s victory over Prenga.

Posting on social mediaPaul praised AJ for earning the win, after returning to action following the tragic car crash he was involved in at the end of last year which took the lives of his two close friends.

“Happy for Joshua with that win after all he’s been through. Remembering Sina and Latz with this one.”

The win for Joshua should now tee up for meeting with Fury later this year, after ‘The Gypsy King’ held up his end of the bargain by also securing a win in his warm-up bout on Friday, securing a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach.

Continue Reading

Boxing

Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshuas Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Published

1 day ago

on

July 25, 2026

By

Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshua's Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Anthony Joshua may have earned a knockout win over Kristian Prenga but the fight certainly didn’t unfold as most people expected.

Joshua was facing the Albanian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and it looked like a massive upset could be on the cards when he was dropped twice in the opening round.

‘AJ’ was able to recover and went on to secure a second round knockout victory to prevent the shock lossseemingly paving the way for the battle against Tyson Fury later this year.

One man who was ringside to witness the battle was former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellewand he praised Joshua’s ability to turn things around in the fight after describing it as ‘chaos’.

“We predicted round two but I don’t think we foresaw that. That was chaos. He doesn’t see the uppercut coming and finds himself on the floor without knowing how he got there.

“The second one he did see it coming and he was able to clench down on the jaw. He got up and then the experience that he has he used tonight because he tied him up. Against Andy Ruiz he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t know how to do that, but tonight he did.

“He showed once again there is no quit. To be that hurt in the first round and get up, that’s the recoveries of power. People talk about your chin, but it’s not, it’s the level of fitness that gets you up from the floor.

“When Joshua gets a fighter hurt he’s the best finisher in the division. Whenever he hurts someone they’re gone. I haven’t seen him drop anybody and they survive, only Andy Ruiz. He’s a ruthless finisher.”

The clash between Joshua and Fury is now expected to be announced soon for later this year, after Fury won his own interim fight on Friday by defeating Mariusz Wach.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending