Boxing
David Benavidez Q&A: Anthony Yarde, the pursuit of greatness and Canelo
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.”
1:35
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.”
Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.
WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.
Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.
WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.
“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.
“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”
The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.
Virginia Closes Appeal Route
Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.
“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”
The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.
For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.
WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón
It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.
That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.
Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.
Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.
WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.
This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.
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