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Benavidez’s ‘simple’ cut raises alarm bells ahead of the Yarde fight

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Image: ‘Easiest Weight Cut’? Benavidez’s Gaunt Look Suggests Trouble Before Yarde Clash

A visibly emaciated David Benavidez said today during Grand Arrivals that he is still three pounds low of Friday’s weigh-in for his fight with Anthony Yard, which will take place on Saturday, November 22 in Riyad.

(Source: Queensberry/Leigh Dawney)

Benavidez emerges looking exhausted

Benavidez’s lanky appearance has some fans wondering how much weight he will have to lose to reach 175 pounds. If he is so skinny at 178, it means he must be a cruiserweight.

If he is tired after making weight, he may be defenseless against the powerful boxer Yard (27-3, 24 KO) on Saturday. This is not the right guy for WBC featherlight heavyweight champion Benavidez to suffer against due to his severe weight cut. From the way he looked today, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he hydrated into the mid 190s or even 200s.

“This is one of my easiest weight cuts. I have about three pounds left. Right now I weigh 178. So three pounds,” said an emaciated David Benavidez DAZN Boxing during today’s Grand Arrivals in Riyad.

Is this Benavidez’s “easiest” weight cut? What do I hear? That says a lot about how much weight he cut while fighting at super middleweight, and how amazing he looked when he stepped into the ring. When you are bigger than your opponents, it gives you a substantial advantage.

Gvozdyk and Morrell Let’s remind us of reality

It’s worth noting that Benavidez has had no more knockouts since moving up to 175 pounds. While he still looks bigger than his opponents in this weight class, he didn’t even come close to hurting the two guys he fought at featherlight heavyweight, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell. Indeed, they were the ones who hurt Benavidez.

Benavidez says power continues to grow

“I know it’s not true because in the Gwozdyk fight I hurt him. In the Morrell fight I hurt him,” Benavidez said when asked about his reaction to criticism that his strength did not enhance from 168 to 175.

I watched the Benavidez vs. fight three times. Gvozdyk and Oleksandr was never seen to be harmed. Benavidez was injured in this fight in the 11th round, when Gvozdyk hit him in the granary with a mighty shot. Until Benavidez returned to form, attacking play was suspended for a full minute. If his power didn’t hurt Morrell or Gvozdyk, what would happen when Yarde defeated him? He won’t have the strength in his punches to fend off Yarde. Benavidez will have to rely on his ability to take punishment. He looked beaten later in the match against Morrell.

“What I did for this camp was go back to basics, apply footwork, distance and head movement,” Benavidez said. “We’re going to have to set traps. These are bigger guys. So bringing them down isn’t going to work like I did at 168.”

The moment he gets hit…

Benavidez is so hot-headed that you can’t believe he won’t fight like he always does, going on the attack whenever he gets hit. He is one of those players who fights under the influence of emotions. Benavidez is too elated to cope.

When he is down, an expression appears on his face and he immediately responds with combos. That’s who Benavidez is and that’s why he suffered such a harsh punishment against Morrell and Gvozdyk. Can a fighter who loses his mind after being struck really stick to his “game plan”? This is not realistic. He says he’ll fight from distance and apply his footwork, but as soon as Yarse hits him with a good shot, he’ll be back to his elderly self.

“So I say that my power does not bring, I know for a fact that I can hurt these guys. Now I have to follow the game plan and work on my jab. I see I have an opportunity to hurt Anthony Yarde. I just have to follow the game plan.”

A move in the cruiserweight division is becoming inevitable

If Benavidez hasn’t hurt his last two opponents at 175, it’s demanding to believe he’ll start showing strength now. His emaciated, painfully lean appearance suggests he may be tender and exhausted on Saturday, struggling on an empty field.

If he loses to Yarde, he will have a good reason to tell the fans. It would be wise for Benavidez to move up to cruiserweight at this point, rather than staying at 175 pounds and continuing to put himself through the wringer to make weight.

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Boxing

Swiss No. 1 Seifeddine Letaief challenges rival Arbnor Jashari

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Seifeddine Letaief vs Arbnor Jashari rivalry poster showing the Swiss lightweights with Zurich blue tones on the left and Basel red tones on the right.

Swiss lightweight Seifeddine Letaief told World Boxing News he is ready to settle his growing ring rivalry with fellow undefeated fighter Arbnor Jashari.

Letaief is currently in first place in the Swiss rankings for his division, while Jashari is in second place, which is a natural matchup between the two undefeated fighters.

A meeting between the pair would pit the two highest-ranked lightweights in the country against each other.

Tensions escalated with exchanges on social media, FaceTime calls about a potential fight and exchanges of words.

According to Letaief, the rivalry even escalated to the point that Jashari tried to involve the SwissBoxing committee.

“At one point he even tried to block me from SwissBoxing, claiming that I had humiliated him on social media,” Letaief told World Boxing News.

Swiss competition

Letaief insists that from his point of view the situation is plain. The undefeated lightweight says he is ready to fight and believes the fight should happen now rather than later.

“I’m ready to fight and decide everything in the ring,” he explained.

SwissBoxing has suggested waiting until both fighters have built bigger physiques before moving on to staging the fight, but Letaief believes the circumstances already make it an attractive fight for the local scene.

The clash between the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the country, combined with the rivalry between Zurich and Basel, may arouse great interest in Switzerland.

Seifeddine Letaief

Unbroken records

Letaief, 23, turned professional in September 2024 and has compiled an undefeated record of 6-0, including two knockouts. He lives in Winterthur and has fought several times in the Zurich region, establishing himself as one of the country’s emerging prospects.

Meanwhile, Jashari has had a slightly longer professional career. The 25-year-old made his debut in April 2022 and has a 7-0 record, which includes two knockouts.

Both fighters also share a common opponent, Lasha Giorgi Vardiashvili, and each of them scored a six-round decision victory in 2025.

For now, the fight that many in the Swiss boxing community want to see remains unsigned, and Letaief has made it clear he is ready to move forward as soon as the opportunity arises.

“Despite all these talks, the fight has still not been decided. For me, the matter is plain: I am ready to fight and decide everything in the ring. I believe that this fight must take place now,” Letaief concluded.


About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

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Oleksandr Usyk announces the list of his last three opponents and confirms that he will then retire

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Oleksandr Usyk announces his final 3 opponents and confirms he will then retire

Oleksandr Usyk still has three fights left and hopes to extend his record to 27-0 before hanging up his gloves for good.

The elite Ukrainian was undisputed at cruiserweight before repeating the feat twice at heavyweight. In both divisions, he has victories over Murat Gassiew, Mairis Briedis, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Usyk will then focus more on the spectacle side of the sport when he faces kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven at the Giza Pyramids in Egypt on May 23.

I keep talking Inside the RingUsyk assured fans that while this fight may not be at the elite level he is known for, his last two fights will be.

“Rico, this is the first one. Second, Wardley-Dubois wins. The third fight is my friend Greedy Belly, Tyson Fury.”

When asked how much time he had left, Usyk confirmed that he was three years aged and had not played.

Fabio Wardley rose from interim to full WBO champion when Usyk vacated the belt last year, and he puts that status on the line against Dubois on May 9 in Manchester. If “DDD” wins tonight, Usyk’s last two scheduled fights could be trilogy fights.

The 39-year-old from Simferopol defeated Dubois and Fury twice, stopping the former in both cases and the latter on points. Fan interest in the fights may therefore be circumscribed.

However, if Wardley manages to remain with the organization in two months’ time, many would like to see the Ipswich fighter team up with the Usyk fighter who has established himself as the greatest heavyweight of a generation.

Whether this would be an uncontested fight seems unlikely. Although Usyk’s WBC belt in the match with Verhoeven is controversial, the IBF and WBA have not commented on this fight yet.

Moreover, the WBC has ordered Usyk to face Agit Kabayel next, which is clearly not in his plans. This means that it may be stripped of all three lanes in the near future.

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Eddie Hearn fights for Katie Taylor in Croke Park

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Image: Eddie Hearn pushing for Katie Taylor retirement fight at Croke Park

“I just want to fight in Dublin to finish my career. Of course we’re still hoping for Croke Park, holding on to a little bit of hope that it will happen,” Taylor told RTE.

“Fighting my last fight in our most iconic arena. How special would that be? I think it would be absolutely extraordinary if I was able to do it. I’m not sure if it will happen or not. Either way, I will end my career here and I’m very excited about that.”

Taylor has only fought twice in Ireland as a professional, both fights will take place in 2023 against Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in Dublin. Cameron won her first fight by majority decision, handing Taylor the only defeat of her career, before Taylor regained the undisputed junior welterweight championship six months later in a rematch.

The 38-year-old Irish star remains one of the greatest fighters in women’s boxing history. Taylor won Olympic gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics before turning professional and quickly winning world titles in two categories. In 2019, she became the undisputed lightweight champion and later repeated the feat at 140 pounds.

Much of Taylor’s recent profile has been built on her rivalry with Amanda Serrano. Their first fight at Madison Square Garden in 2022 was widely celebrated and helped augment the visibility of women’s boxing. Taylor later completed the trilogy by majority vote in July, increasing her record to 25-1 (6 KO).

The possibility of saying goodbye to the stadium became the subject of interest for its long-time promoter. Hearn admitted it would take significant work to turn the idea into reality, but he believes this moment will be historic for Irish sport.

“It’s a hell of a lot of work to make sure one of the greatest athletes of all time fulfills her biggest dream. And I have to deliver Croke Park. I have to,” Hearn said on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“If I don’t give it my all, if I don’t put in every effort to make it happen, I won’t do justice to Katie and I won’t do it to myself. Because it would be the biggest sporting event in Irish history.”

Hearn said talks with Croke Park officials had taken place previously and had resumed as Taylor’s career came to an end.

“There is more momentum this time,” he said.

No opponent has been determined for Taylor’s last fight. Hearn said the focus remains on determining whether the stadium plan can be secured before making any player selections.

“Obviously you want to have an opponent who is compelling, competitive and has a story behind it,” Hearn said. “Nothing has really been discussed or said about the opponent. We are really trying to ensure that discussions with Croke Park allow for that possibility before we pursue it further.”

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