David Benavidez, also known as “The Mexican Monster,” says he hopes to prove he’s “the baddest man on the planet” when he fights Anthony Yarde in Saudi Arabia on November 22.
Benavidez, 30-0 (24 KOs), has fought most of his career at 168lbs and recently moved up to 175lbs, defeating Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell.
He fights Londoner Yarde, a career-long light heavyweight, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh with Benavidez's WBC 175lbs title at stake.
“It’s been a great year for me so far, now we have another great fight,” said Benavidez at Friday's "Ring IV" launch press conference in New York City. “He’s a tremendous fighter. He has a lot of experience. This is his third time at a world title, so I know he’s going to leave it all on the line, but November 22nd, like [Yarde] said, I like to go to war, too.
“I’m not going to back down from him. He’s not going to back down from me, so let’s have some fun and give the people what they want to see. I want to know I’m the baddest man on the planet, and that’s the route I’m taking.”
Dmitry Bivol holds all the other world titles at 175lbs, but he could be tied into a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev. They are 1-1 to date. Bivol, previously the undisputed champion, vacated his WBC title, pursuing a trilogy with Beterbiev over a Benavidez fight. Benavidez was upgraded from interim to full champion as a result. A third fight with Beterbiev has yet to be arranged.
“I feel like I’m the best in the world, and I want to show it,” said the 28-year-old Benavidez. “He wants to go to war, we’re okay with that. Let’s go to war. I’m going to go in and do what I need to do. It’s going to be a fun fight… I want to steal the show.”
London’s Yarde is 27-3 (24 KOs), and he has promised the fight will be “a shootout.”
“Entertainment,” he said, of what he anticipates they will deliver. “I think he’s expecting the same. We spoke yesterday and saw each other for the first time. There’s a lot of respect there, but he knows what I’m bringing to the table. I’ve seen him fight, I respect him a lot and I feel that, when I respect somebody, you’re going to get the best version of me. I’m excited.”
Two of Yarde’s losses came to Sergey Kovalev, in Russia, and Beterbiev – and he had his moments in both. His third loss, twice avenged, was to Manchester’s Lyndon Arthur.
Now 33, Yarde said: “I learnt a lot [from the defeats], but it don’t matter. I’ve got a different fighter in front of me. A different style, and I’m a firm believer – we’ve seen it in history – styles make fights. He knows I can hit. He can hit, too. And in boxing, one punch can change a fight… I feel like the boxing fans are in for a very entertaining night.”
