Anthony Yarde vs David Benavidez: The Ring IV, Night of Champions

David Benavidez makes his first light heavyweight title defence against Anthony Yarde in Riyadh in their 4th instalment of The Ring events. The Saudis have spared no expense gathering a host of top names together for what should be an exciting night of boxing action. Yarde vs Benavidez tops the bill, but there are titles on the line in most of the other fights of the evening. In this article, we will focus on our Yarde vs Benavidez -prediction which was chosen for the main event.

The meeting between these two Yarde vs Benavidez, will see them fight for the WBC light heavyweight title with an agreed weight limit of between 168-175lbs for both fighters. This is the first meeting between the two highly ranked fighters, as Benavidez puts his belt on the line that he won in February of this year. He is also defending an unbeaten record. Yarde has suffered 3 losses, including one to Artur Beterbiev. Beterbiev actually fights earlier in the evening at the same venue and is hoping to work his way back to World Title contention.

In terms of fight styles, we are going to see a real contrast in the ring. Benavidez brings a polished boxing technique that combines controlled violence, fast hands and explosive power. Anthony Yarde is a bit of an outlier in boxing terms; he doesn’t really fight like anyone else out there, employing an open attacking cavalier style. He trains all year, but unusually for a boxer, he avoids weight training. This should make for an exciting contest between the pair.

David Benavidez “The Mexican Monster”

• Nationality: American 🇺🇸
• Record: 30 wins,  0 losses,  0 draws (KO Wins- 24)
• Age: 28

Let’s look at both our fighters to help you with Anthony Yarde vs David Benavidez – Tips. Benavidez is a knockout merchant, and his record certainly bears that out. It is not unusual for light heavyweight fights to be settled in under the distance, but winning 17 of his first 18 fights in that manner is still impressive. Over half of these wins came in the opening round as well and he quickly made a name for himself moving up the ranks. His first real test saw him take a split decision, then a unanimous decision in two fights against Romanian Ronald Gavril (Who fights out of the Mayweather camp). He was later stripped of the world title he won due to testing positive for cocaine in a urine sample. After a short ban he returned to the sport and after a warm-up fight took apart Anthony Direll in 9 brutal rounds. After some more fights against decent opposition, he beat the dangerous but ageing Demetrius Andrade in 6 rounds. He then outpointed Ukrainian Oleksandr Gvozdyk. He won the WBA title, that he defends tonight, with a unanimous decision over David Morrell in February 2025, despite being dropped in the 11th round.

Anthony Yarde “Beast from the East”

• Nationality: British 🇬🇧
• Record:  27 wins,  3 losses, 0 draws (KO Wins- 24)
• Age: 34

Yarde only had 12 amateur fights before turning pro in 2015, although he had a surprisingly high knockout ratio in these. He has always rushed his career along and not been afraid of taking the big fights when they are available. Talking of a rush, he knocked out his first 17 opponents and didn’t go past round 4 until his 15th fight. In that one, he beat the experienced Dariusz Sęk to defend the European Light Heavyweight belt he held for 4 years. He gave that up to challenge Sergey Kovalev for the WBO title, but suffered an 11th-round knockout. This was despite having Kovalev in trouble at certain stages of the bout. His next major bout was the first of a trilogy against Lyndon Arthur. A London/British rivalry that has played well to the crowds, Yarde lost the first one on decision but has since KO’d and outpointed his rival in the return and rubber matches respectively. The other fight in between these that most boxing fans will remember is his 8-round loss to the legendary Artur Beterbiev. This is a man who may yet prove a future opponent for the winner of this fight and a rematch would give Yarde a chance to show he has improved since 2023. With both boxers’ profiles reviewed we can now move on to our Anthony Yarde vs David Benavidez – Prediction.

Where to watch Anthony Yarde vs David Benavidez

You can watch the whole of the Ring IV event, including Anthony Yarde vs David Benavidez  live on DAZN PPV worldwide (available in over 200 countries). Prices vary by region but for reference the price is $59.99 in the US and £24.99 in the UK.

Who is on the Ring IV undercard/card?

The Ring IV fight card is full of stellar names from the world of boxing, and these four fights could almost be main events elsewhere, with titles on the line in every fight.

My advice is to pick a couple of fighters and have a small stake acca or a couple of bets on these on the night to make things moree interesting.

• Brian Norman Jr. vs Devin Haney; Welterweight, WBO title
• Artur Beterbiev vs Deon Nicholson; Light heavyweight
• Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes; Lightweight, for the WBO title
• Jesse Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez; Super flyweight, WBA, WBC and IBF titles

Prediction Chris Eubank Jr vs Connor Benn

So let’s give you some Anthony Yarde vs David Benavidez tips/Betting Tips for the big fight to come. The pair of these have big hitting power and have proven they can knock out men cold. They both have also tasted the canvas, although Yarde has failed to get up twice. (admittedly against two of the division’s hardest punchers) In terms of this fight, Benavidez stands as the younger man and still unbeaten, and he is well ahead with the bookmakers. Yarde is used to coming into bouts as the underdog, so this won’t really faze him. For me personally, Benavidez is very polished and will not have an issue seeing off Yarde on points if it goes the distance. For Yarde fans, his main hope will be for an early stoppage and this will likely see him attack from the off. I think this will make him tire from rounds 8-12 and that’s when I think Benavidez will pick him off for a stoppage win.