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David Benavidez Q&A: Anthony Yarde, the pursuit of greatness and Canelo

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David Benavidez is in the delicate heavyweight division and will defend his WBC title for the first time against Briton Anthony Yarde on Saturday in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

He’s been around for so long that it’s straightforward to forget that the “Mexican Monster” is only 28 years venerable. One of the most invigorating talents in boxing, Benavidez is always looking for fun and has made no secret of the fact that he wants to win his remaining three belts at 175 pounds before one day moving up to cruiserweight.

He also chased a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for what seemed like an eternity, but he didn’t wait until he figured out his way to the top.

ESPN’s James Regan caught up with him ahead of Saturday’s fight.


Anthony Yarde’s coach Tunde Ajayi has said he thinks you can forget about them on Saturday. What do you think about these comments?

“I mean, to be sincere with you, I’ve never missed anyone. If anything, this is the hardest fight I’ve ever trained for any fight. He can say whatever he wants, but at the end of the day, when I step into the ring, I know that every opponent… They’re getting better and better than my last opponent.”

“That’s why I have to show him respect to every opponent, because if you don’t show your opponent the respect he deserves, fights become challenging.

“But I’ve been training for this fight for about four and a half months just because I’m not there saying, ‘Oh, this is going to be the hardest fight of my life, this and that.’

“Maybe that’s why they think I’m overlooking them. But like I said, I’m taking all the necessary precautions to be 100% ready for this fight. We’ve done hundreds of rounds of sparring. We’ve run almost 500 miles. Everything was fine.”


You are proud to be a “fighter of the past” and always come to war. Yarde probably thinks the same about himself. Do you think this makes for an invigorating clash?

“Oh yes, definitely. It’s going to be an invigorating fight from start to finish. Anthony Yarde, I’ve had my eye on him for a long time and I think he’s a special talent.

“He has a lot of skills, but these types of fighters excite me. I know it’s going to be a war and like I said, I’ve prepared extremely well for this fight. I’m 100 percent ready.”


You always like to have fun in the ring and push the action, and you aim for the knockout whenever you can. What is it about you that makes you want to be this type of warrior?

“That’s the type of fighter I’ve been throughout my career. I learned to fight like that when I was a little kid, and that led me to playing professionally. I just like fighting that way.”

“[Fans] I don’t want to see two warriors running away from each other. I’m proud of it. If there’s a fighter out there who’s forceful, a forceful fighter who’s not running from anyone and who’s actually looking for a fight, that doesn’t scare me.

“If someone tells me they’re going to war with me, I want them to do it. This is the way I’ve been fighting my whole life, since I was a little kid. So I don’t know how to fight any other way.”


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What boxers did David Benavidez watch growing up?

WBC delicate heavyweight champion David Benavidez lists his favorite boxers he watched growing up.

Which players did you watch and admire growing up?

“Manny Pacquiao, Marco Antonio Barrera, Prince Naseem Hamed, Mike Tyson, James Toney, Roberto Duran. I studied many of these people when I was younger. And I remember not only studying them, but also how I felt watching these fighters fight.

“We had barbecues at home and when we got these types of players, the energy was high and everyone enjoyed what they saw.

“Even if it’s a person who doesn’t even know boxing, if you give him a fight like that, he’ll always be your fan.”


You have already achieved so much in your career and you are only 28 years venerable. What does greatness mean to you right now? And what will your legacy be when all this is over?

“Greatness for me is being the type of warrior who doesn’t run away from anyone. Greatness for me is [being] the type of fighter who goes in there and gets respect from whoever he is.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say there are people I don’t want to fight, but when I get in the ring with them, I’m not going to run away from anyone. That’s the type of fighter I want to be.”

“Greatness to me means achievement, winning all the belts in a weight class and that’s what I’m trying to do and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I want to become undisputed in this weight class. If I had the opportunity to fight for all the belts, I would be undisputed in the super middleweight division.

“But that didn’t happen for obvious reasons. For me, it just means winning all the belts in my weight class, making weight, and also defending my title and being the type of fighter that is respected by everyone, even professional fighters.”


Now that you have children, how does this affect your thinking about what it means to be a role model for them in terms of respect, strenuous work and adversity that you have faced in your career?

“It’s definitely critical to me because not only do I want to talk about it, but I also want to show it and I want to show my children how to do it, and not only my children, but anyone who is interested and wants to be like that.

“I think I’m on track to achieve that, but there’s still a lot to do and we’ll do everything we can.

“I’m going to continue to achieve everything I set out to do. And like I said, I’m just going to be a positive influence on the youth, kids and juvenile warriors of the next generation. I feel like I’m doing really well so far, but I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”


You’ve made it clear you still want to fight Canelo. After Terence Crawford’s defeat, do you think this fight is closer or further away?

“I don’t know, honestly, I don’t know. Every time I feel like I know something about Canelo or the Canelo fight, things don’t go the way I expect. But like I said, until Canelo retires, it’s always going to be a topic and it’s always going to be a fight that people want to see.”

“I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. Even with this, the fight is getting bigger and bigger. It was already substantial, but I just keep fighting and winning championships, and if I decide to move up to cruiserweight and get those belts, I think that will make the fight even bigger.”

“I’m ready to fight at any time. I think it would be a great fight with Canelo and I think it has to happen, but the only person who doesn’t want this fight to happen is Canelo. He might say he’s not afraid of anyone, this and that, but the fight makes sense in any category.”

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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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