Boxing

Yarde promises to “put to sleep” Benavidez during the Riyadh war

Published

9 months ago

November 11, 2025

Image: Anthony Yarde's Benavidez Title Shot: Why Turki Alalshikh's Pick Faces Fan Opposition

Anthony Yarde says his strength will carry WBC lightweight heavyweight champion David Benavidez “to sleep” if he lands cleanly in their headliner fight on November 22, 2025 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

Yarde (27-3, 24 KO) is confident that he will be able to hit “Mexican Monster” Benavidez (30-0, 24 KO) because his fighting style involves waging war on his opponents. This has been his signature approach to fighting since day one of his 12-year professional career.

Benavidez is counting on being able to beat Yarde, wear him down and, at some point, score a knockout. What happens if Yarde lands first? With Yarde’s power, if he can equalize early in the fight, fans will know if Benavidez has what it takes to fight at 175 pounds.

It’s not a good sign that Benvidez has been injured in two fights since moving up to lightweight heavyweight in 2024. David Morrell staggered him in the second round, hurt him in the fourth and dropped him in the eleventh fight on February 1, 2025.

Former WBC lightweight heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk knocked out Benavidez in the 11th round after hitting him with a right hand to the body in their June 15, 2024 fight.

A war waiting to break out

“It’s inevitable. At some point there will be a shooting. That’s what I want and that’s what he wants,” Anthony Yarde said in an interview Queensberry about how his fight with David Benavidez on November 22 will play out. “I feel like that’s our fighting style. That makes it an thrilling fight.”

The first round of the Benavidez vs. Yarde fight will immediately be a “shootout”. This is how Benavidez fights. He won’t wait until mid-round or later in the fight to go after Yarde because he’s a power puncher who wins his fights by outperforming his opponents.

The question is, can Anthony Yarde keep up with Benavidez’s pace for twelve rounds? In the past, we’ve seen Yarde’s tank run empty after knockout losses to Artur Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev as they set a rapid pace. Given Beavidez’s high-pressure style, it’s obvious that Yarde will wear out quickly if he can’t knock him out or make him think twice about taking this approach.

Benavidez’s chin questioned

“I’ve got the artillery. I’ve got the Iron Man vest and gear. We’re getting to the center of the ring. Let’s hope there aren’t any homeless people. The referee has to be careful. And you’re going to have a good fight,” Yarde said. “If I hit Benavide and it’s immaculate, he’ll go to sleep,” Yarde said.

Benavidez, 28, will insist on going to war with Yard right away, believing he can pepper him with shots. We don’t know if his chin is still intact after what Cuban Morrell did to him last February. He was again hurt twice by Morrell and went down in the 11th round. This is not a good way to fight a great boxer like Morrell.

Benavidez experiment 175

Is Benavidez’s strength at lightweight heavyweight as real as it was at 168 pounds? The fights he has had since moving up to 175 pounds with Gvozdyk and Morrell suggest that his strength has not increased from 168. Both of Benavidez’s fights were over 12 rounds.

Is Yarde being overlooked – could it be his way? He is clearly being overlooked, seen as a symbolic sacrifice that Benavidez can operate in an exhibition fight. People don’t pay attention to Yarde and don’t see him as a credible threat. Therefore, there is less hype around this fight compared to the feature fight between Devin Haney and Brian Norman Jr. for The Ring IV gala, which took place on November 22.

Last update: 11/11/2025

Boxing

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

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"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.

Boxing

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

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

"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.”

Happy for Joshua with that win after all he’s been through.

Remembering Sina and Latz with this one.

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) July 25, 2026

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.

Boxing

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

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2026

The Punch Junkie™ News

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.