David Benavidez to make first defence of WBC light-heavyweight crown to Anthony Yarde

David Benavidez to make first defence of WBC light-heavyweight strap to Briton Anthony Yarde

By Tim Rickson9 Jul 2025 · Updated 31 Jul 2026 · 2 min read

David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde

David “Monster Bandera Roja” Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) became world champion after Dmitry Bivol vacated the WBC light-heavyweight title and now he’s preparing for the first defence of his crown against British contender Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) on November 22 at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, live on DAZN .

Unbeaten Benavidez may not have earned his championship status at 175lbs just yet, but he is no stranger to being a world champion. From 2017 to 2020, including a brief interruption, he held the WBC super-middleweight title. He also held the WBC Interim super-middleweight strap from 2022-2023.

Most recently, the 28-year-old Mexican-American captured the WBC Interim light-heavyweight belt after defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June 2024 and became the mandatory challenger for the full championship after winning a fierce fight against bitter rival David Morrell Jr. in February this year.

After winning the Interim honours and defending it successfully against two formidable foes is the reason why the WBC officially elevated the 28-year-old to full world champion status when the full world title became vacant.

This will be Anthony Yarde’s second attempt at challenging for a WBC world title. In January 2023, he faced the mighty Artur Beterbiev in London, but was stopped in the eighth round by the Russian KO artist after a valiant effort.

Trained by Tunde Ajayi throughout his entire professional career, Yarde has challenged for a world title twice before, the first time against Sergey Kovalev in 2019, entering the lion's den in Russia. Despite another brave attempt, the Londoner was halted in the 11th round.

His only other loss was against British rival Lyndon Arthur, in a fight fought behind closed doors after the 33-year-old had tragically suffered the loss of family members during the pandemic. It was clear to see that Yarde wasn't himself, walking Arthur down recklessly with little regard for taking damage and was subsequently picked off and lost on points - split decision.

"The Beast from the East" came back a year later to right the wrong via a clinical fourth-round KO. Most recently, in April, the domestic rivals completed their trilogy, with Yarde winning the decider 116-112, 116-112, 115-113.

David “Monster Bandera Roja” Benavidez has built an undefeated record of 30 wins, with 24 coming by knockout, while Anthony Yarde holds a professional record of 27 wins, 3 losses, with 24 KOs. They each possess 24 KOs from 30 contests, resulting in a shared 80% KO ratio.

It's fair to predict this fight ending early, with such heavy hands flying each way. Benavidez is yet another formidable world champion for Yarde to challenge, with a height and reach advantage.

Yarde is a sucker for doing things the hard way, never shirking away from the toughest of challenges, but could this third time be the one for him? Benavidez was floored in his last fight, so perhaps Yarde knows its his time now.