WBC Special Preview: Benavidez vs Yarde
WBC STATISTICS
WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship
November 22, 2025 / Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / ANB Arena
SAMPSON BOXING & QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS PRESENT:
DAVID “El Monstruo” BENAVIDEZ (USA)
· WBC Light Heavyweight World Champion, 1st Defense
· WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion, 1st Defense
· Former WBC Interim Light Heavyweight Champion, 1 Defense
· Former WBC Super Middleweight World Champion (2-time), 1 defense
Age: 28 / Date of birth: December 17, 1996
Residence: Seattle, Washington / Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona
Record: 30-0, 24 KOs / Total rounds: 160 / World championship fights: 4-0, 2 KOs
Height: 6’0.5” – 184cm / Reach: 74.5” – 189cm / Stance: Right-handed
Manager, trainer: Jose Benavidez Sr.
ANTHONY “The Beast from the East” YARDE (United Kingdom)
Ranked WBC No. 4 at Light Heavyweight
Age: 34 / Date of birth: August 13, 1991
Residence: Ilford, Essex, England, United Kingdom / Birthplace: Hackney, London, England, United Kingdom
Record: 27-3, 24 KOs / Total rounds: 125 / World championship fights: 0-1
Height: 6’0” – 1.83cm / Reach: 72” – 1.83 cm / Stance: Right-handed
Manager, trainer: Tunde Ajayi
WBC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS:
1. Harold Johnson (USA) 1963
2. Willie Pastrano (USA) 1963 – 1965
3. Jose Torres (Puerto Rico) 1965 – 1966
4. Dick Tiger (Nigeria) 1966 – 1968
5. Bob Foster (USA) 1968 – 1974
6. John Conteh (United Kingdom) 1974 – 1977
7. Miguel Angel Cuello (Argentina) 1977 – 1978
8. Mate Parlov (Yugoslavia) 1978
9. Marvin Johnson (USA) 1978 – 1979
10. Matthew Saad Muhammad (USA) 1979 – 1981
11. Dwight Muhammad Qawi (USA) 1981 – 1983
12. Michael Spinks (USA) 1983 – 1985
13. J.B. Williamson (USA) 1985 – 1986
14. Dennis Andries (United Kingdom) 1986 – 1987
15. Thomas Hearns (USA) 1987
16. Don LaLonde (Canada) 1987 – 1988
17. Ray Leonard (USA) 1988
18. Dennis Andries (United Kingdom) 1989 *
19. Jeff Harding (Australia) 1989 – 1990
20. Dennis Andries (United Kingdom) 1990 – 1991 *
21. Jeff Harding (Australia) 1991 – 1994 *
22. Mike McCallum (Jamaica) 1994 – 1995
23. Fabrice Tiozzo (France) 1995 – 1996
24. Roy Jones Jr. (USA) 1996 – 1997
25. Montell Griffin (USA) 1997
26. Graciano Rocchigiani (Germany) Interim 1998
27. Roy Jones Jr. (USA) 1997 – 2003 *
28. Antonio Tarver (USA) 2003
29. Roy Jones Jr. (USA) 2003 – 2004 *
30. Antonio Tarver (USA) 2004 *
31. Tomasz Adamek (Poland) 2005 – 2007
32. Chad Dawson (USA) 2007 – 2008
33. Adrian Diaconu (Romania/Canada) 2008 – 2009
34. Jean Pascal (Haiti/Canada) 2009 – 2011
35. Chad Dawson (USA) Interim 2009 – 2010 *
36. Bernard Hopkins (USA) 2011 – 2012
37. Chad Dawson (USA) 2012 – 2013*
38. Adonis Stevenson (Haiti/Canada) 2013 – 2018
39. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine) 2018 – 2019
40. Artur Beterbiev (Russia) 2019 – 2025
41. David Benavidez (USA) Interim 2024 – 2025
42. Dmitry Bivol (Russia) 2025
43. David Benavidez (USA) 2025 –
* Regained
WBC TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS
1. Roy Jones Jr. (USA)
2. Bernard Hopkins (USA)
3. Bob Foster (USA)
4. Michael Spinks (USA)
5. Adonis Stevenson (Haiti/Canada)
6. Mike McCallum (Jamaica)
7. Jose Torres (Puerto Rico)
8. Dick Tiger (Nigeria)
9. Matthew Saad Muhammad (USA)
10. Chad Dawson (USA)
GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION IN WBC HISTORY:
34 light heavyweight world champions have been recognized by the WBC, of whom only five have regained the title: Dennis Andries (United Kingdom) two times, Jeff Harding (Australia), Roy Jones Jr. (USA) two times, Antonio Tarver (USA), and Chad Dawson (USA) two times.
125 light heavyweight world championship fights have been held in WBC history.
Bob Foster (USA) holds the record for light heavyweight world title defenses with 14.
MEMORABLE WBC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTS:
Feb. 22, 2025 Dmitry Bivol W12 Artur Beterbiev – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Oct. 12, 2024 Artur Beterbiev W12 Dmitry Bivol – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
June 15, 2024 David Benavidez W12 Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Interim) – Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan. 13, 2024 Artur Beterbiev TKO7 Callum Smith – Québec City, Québec
Jan. 28, 2023 Artur Beterbiev TKO8 Anthony Yarde – London, England
June 18, 2022 Artur Beterbiev TKO2 Joe Smith Jr. – New York, New York
Dec. 17, 2021 Artur Beterbiev KO9 Marcus Browne – Montréal, Québec
Mar. 20, 2021 Artur Beterbiev TKO10 Adam Deines – Moscow, Russia
Oct. 18, 2019 Artur Beterbiev TKO10 Oleksandr Gvozdyk – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec. 1, 2018 Oleksandr Gvozdyk KO11 Adonis Stevenson – Québec City, Québec
May 19, 2018 Adonis Stevenson D12 Badou Jack – Toronto, Ontario
May 24, 2014 Adonis Stevenson W12 Andrzej Fonfara – Montréal, Québec
June 8, 2013 Adonis Stevenson KO1 Chad Dawson – Montréal, Québec
Apr. 28, 2012 Chad Dawson W12 Bernard Hopkins – Atlantic City, New Jersey
May 21, 2011 Bernard Hopkins W12 John Pascal – Montréal, Québec
Dec. 11, 2009 Jean Pascal W12 Adrian Diaconu – Montréal, Québec
Apr. 12, 2008 Chad Dawson W12 Glen Johnson – Tampa, Florida
May 21, 2005 Tomasz Adamek W12 Paul Briggs – Chicago, Illinois
May 15, 2004 Antonio Tarver TKO2 Roy Jones Jr. – Las Vegas, Nevada
Nov. 22, 1996 Roy Jones Jr. W12 Mike McCallum – Tampa, Florida
July 23, 1994 Mike McCallum W12 Jeff Harding – Bismarck, North Dakota
Nov. 7, 1988 Sugar Ray Leonard TKO9 Donny Lalonde – Las Vegas, Nevada
May 29, 1988 Donny Lalonde TKO5 Leslie Stewart – Port of Spain, Trinidad
Mar. 7, 1987 Thomas Hearns TKO10 Dennis Andries – Detroit, Michigan
Sep. 10, 1986 Dennis Andries TKO9 Tony Sibson – London, England
Mar. 18, 1983 Michael Spinks W15 Dwight Muhammad Qawi – Atlantic City, New Jersey
Dec. 19, 1981 Dwight Muhammad Qawi TKO10 Matthew Saad Muhammad – Atlantic City, New Jersey
Apr. 22, 1979 Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO8 Marvin Johnson – Indianapolis, Indiana
Oct. 9, 1976 John Conteh W15 Yaqui Lopez – Copenhagen, Denmark
May 24, 1968 Bob Foster KO4 Dick Tiger – New York, New York
Dec. 16, 1966 Dick Tiger W15 José Torres – New York, New York
Aug. 15, 1966 José Torres W15 Eddie Cotton – Las Vegas, Nevada
June 1, 1963 Willie Pastrano W15 Harold Johnson – Las Vegas, Nevada
Benavidez and Yarde willing to go the extra mile
By James Blears
When you`ve got two awesome sluggers in one ring, at the same time then, the chime of the bell and both cheerfully willing to swing for the stands, it`s going to be a treat for the fans- Thus…it`s easy to rave about Ant and Dave!
For David Benavidez 30-0, 24 KO`s it’s a voluntary defence of his WBC light heavyweight Green and Gold Belt, against Anthony Yarde 27-3, 24 KO`s. But and yet, it`s also a test under fire and a beacon indicator, to underline his power and command of the division. To undermine he who dares to usurp. It never ‘’Reigns!’’ To add majesty and the glamour of Arabian nights, it`s going to be on November 22nd at the ANB Arena in Riyadh and super-flyweight fresh-faced champion and Tiny Terror Jessie ‘’Bam’’ Rodriguez is also on the bill. What an impactful evening lies ahead!
It`s Anthony`s third tilt at the garland and laurels and the roses, which BTW, carry thorns. Also, most probably his last chance. For him, the Grand Finale Florish. This makes him an especially dangerous challenger. What`s more, he can really dig, planting his punches, although on the minus side his defence can be leaky and leafy, like in The Fall, especially his left lead, which sometimes strays and dangles level with his ankles, becoming leaden, especially when he`s getting tired.
David has quicky grown into a Goliath in the light heavyweight division. At six feet two inches tall, it must have been a hunger games challenge to diet and squeeze, plus boil down to one hundred and sixty- eight. During the Covid crisis and the era of the Bubble, he missed the weight by 2.8 pounds and lost the WBC super-middleweight belt on the scales, before taking on Roamer Alexis Angulo, who he unremittingly battered for ten rounds until Angulo`s corner had seen enough and sensibly pulled him out. Frustration has its channels and purpose, when delivered on purpose.
The first time David lost the title was due to a youthful indiscretion with cocaine, which was detected via a random test by VADA. He was barely out of his teens, served a four- month suspension, wised up and grew up, with some counselling and third- party advice. David has never lost a fight or a title in the ring.
In his most recent fight, David was defending his WBC Interim light heavyweight title, before being elevated to Absolute, following the relinquishing departure of Dmitry Bivol. It was against the teak tough WBA Champion David Morrell. He of the southpaw touch. It was an exacting challenge for David. He threw more accurate and many more punch clusters, attacking the body as never before and landing some peach left uppercuts. But the other guy wasn`t a champion in his own right for nothing.
Occasionally rocked, yet with flint-like durability although he couldn`t balance the slate. However, he soaked it up, fought back, dished it out and landed hard on ‘’Red Flag’’ even unbalancing and briefly upending him from pole position in the penultimate round, only to be docked a point by Referee Thomas Taylor for punching after the bell, with unrestrained gusto.
It was said that David Benavidez put on some quite some weight after this fight, but has now shed it. As a youngster he battled the pounds and had to take two years out of his promising undefeated amateur record, in order to slim. Piling on the pounds is something that most us have faced and do face…alas. But at twenty-eight David can still control it better, as he still dips in under the middle-aged spread limbo bar. Anthony Yarde is six years older. As the fight progresses, the age factor could well weigh as a significant millstone hanging heavy around his neck.
Another factor to consider is the nature of Anthony`s two world title defeats. The first involved the tractor factor, when he was run over and ploughed by WBO champion Sergey ‘’Krusher’’ Kovalev, way back in 2019. Sergey was on the furrow of home turf at the Tractor Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk in Russia. But he was skating on very thin ice, after being caught be a mighty right from Anthony in round eight. Anthony followed up and floundering Sergey was all at sea. He somehow avoided the impact of another iceberg and survived until the bell. His manager Egis Klimas at ringside, could be seen puffing up his cheeks and letting out one almighty sigh of relief. It`s moments like this, which add clumps of grey hairs to your temples! Anthony had been barely but a punch or two away from victory. He had it within the grasp of his hands, but let it slip through his fingers. The chance and the moment as well as the championship opportunity had come and gone. And, he`d used up all of his final reserves of energy all in vain.
In the next round, Sergey was the polar opposite. He re-grouped, boxed and as his head cleared, he launched some eye watering, withering, blistering stalagmite attacks, especially using the overhead right. By round eleven, Antony was visibly tiring and fading. He almost aimlessly walked right into a straight left, went down and that was that. Too much to bear from the Russian Bear.
Never one to duck a challenge, Anthony`s second title attempt was against threshing/mincing machine Arthur Beterbiev at Wembley Stadium, only a stone`s throw from his home base and Round Table in Ilford. Two years on from Russia, it was his second bite at the frosted cherry. At stake were the WBC, WBO and IBF titles. Fighting daunting ‘’King’’ Artur is always a heart-rending ordeal. Under the cosh in round eight, fate and a big right hand struck Anthony. The follow up right decked him. He was sunk. Tame it wasn`t, Thames it was, and those chain of events led to his Waterloo.
He forlornly glanced to his corner blankly staring defeat full in the face and they prudently and immediately waved it off for the sake and well-being of their man, so he could fight another day. How much have those two clobbering defeats taken out of Anthony? When he fought The Krusher he`d only had eighteen previous fights. The rawness was still evident and even though there was plenty of strength, willingness and eagerness, he was still visibly unpolished and a flawed diamond in the rough. The same excuse can`t be provided for the mauling inflicted by Beterbiev. But even then, Anthony`s broad back and powerful physique weren`t able to weather and withstand the eye of the storm, which broke over his head.
I remember when David Benavidez came to Mexico City, after winning the vacant WBC super-middleweight title back in 2017. He`d won a SD, after a gruelling battle against Ronald Gavril, getting up from a final round knockdown. David was only twenty and still a bit shy, trying to get used to being world champion and its accompanying mantle, then resting heavily on his young shoulders. A diligent student, he had learned from fight one and defeated Ron via a UD in the return. His bout against former WBC Champion Oleksandr Gvozkyk for the WBC Interim light heavyweight title, fought in an atmosphere of mutual respect, was also an empowering tutorial. An invaluable learning curve leading to his light heavyweight graduation.
One thing to focus upon and to improve is David`s stamina. He sometimes tires towards the end of fights and that`s when he can be exposed and caught, yet hardly or seldom napping. Anthony who is older and more battle worn, will be sorely tested the longer this fight goes on. Yes, he has more than a puncher`s chance and can box well when the occasion demands, but he`s intent on testing David`s jaw and visa- versa. David`s likely to be initially prudent, which is wise against a proven puncher. The only other person apart from Kovalev and Beterbiev to defeat Anthony, was Lydon Arthur via SD. Anthony has since avenged this twice.
David is best a middle range, backing up his opponents, driving them to the ropes, employing an accurate, precise punch repertoire. In spite of having a long reach, Anthony is fond of slipping into the pocket and picking it, by fighting toe to toe. David would do best not to be lured into this trap, especially early on. While it lasts, and it`s most unlikely to go the full distance, it`s going to be a fireworks night. Rockets, sparklers and cherry bombs via thrilling and chilling exchanges. A veritable Bonfire Night.
To win Benavidez must draw from the freshet fountain of youth, dig to the body and utilize hand speed to the head, to befuddle and overwhelm the older man. To break him up and then methodically break him down. To pull off a monumental upset, Yarde will need to temporally hold back Pa Time and Ma Nature, go the extra furlong then clock up the extra mile, to achieve what he hasn`t done ever before. The Road not taken.
As Robert Frost wrote in: his poem, Stopping by woods on a snowy evening: ‘’The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.’’
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