Anthony Yarde believes that the “experience” gained against Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev can make the difference when in November he challenges David Benavidez for the WBC light-heavyweight title.
The 33-year-old Yarde represents Benavidez’s first opponent since his elevation to the status of WBC champion, and, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a date to be determined, he will challenge for a version of the light-heavyweight title for the third time.
It was in 2019 when Yarde, in only his 19th fight as a professional following a short amateur career, travelled to Russia and threatened to stop the heavy-handed Kovalev before being stopped himself in the 11th round.
Four years later he was rewarded with a fight with the even-more-feared Beterbiev, and gave Kovalev’s fellow Russian his toughest night until Beterbiev was matched with Dmitry Bivol for the first time in a memorable contest for the undisputed title in October 2024.
Benavidez – after Bivol, also of Russia, and Beterbiev – has come to be recognised as the world’s third finest light heavyweight. At 28 years old and after – like Yarde – 30 fights he regardless is less experienced and less proven than either Kovalev or Beterbiev, and it is there that Yarde expects his previous world-title fights to tell.
“With them kind of challenges, the only thing that let me down was experience, and I think it showed,” he told BoxingScene. “I gained a lot of experience against Beterbiev; I gained a lot of experience against Kovalev. Everyone’s seen that I’ve got better each time, even though the person’s more dangerous. I’m excited for it; the deal was done very quickly and very easily, because of my personality. As soon as it got put to me I said, ‘Absolutely’, and now we’re fighting.
“My personality has been proven time and time again – I don’t care who the name is. The fact it’s him makes it better, because he’s one of the best in the world, and I just see it as another opportunity to have a great challenge; another opportunity to win a world title.
“Beterbiev’s record is still probably the most dangerous. Benavidez is highly rated; highly avoided; very, very avoided. I’m actually excited again. It’s such a big challenge for me.
“I’m fighting him – I’m a person who takes on all challenges. I’ll see on the night [how good he really is]. He hasn’t fought anyone like me yet. I’ve never been a person to look at who someone’s fought or how they’ve done against them. For example, when the fight got made with me and Beterbiev, everyone said I’m crazy; I’m out of my league. ‘This guy’s a killer.’ I feel like, you go in there, you have a fight, and if it’s your time, you’ll win the fight. Play your best; if it’s my time, I’m gonna win the fight. We’ll wait and see.”
Yarde had previously expected to fight Joshua Buatsi, but was frustrated by a combination of first a dispute with his long-term promoter Queensberry Promotions and then watching Buatsi instead agree to fight another British light heavyweight in Callum Smith, who inflicted his first defeat.
Smith consequently emerged as Benavidez’s likeliest next opponent, but the confirmation that it will instead be Yarde means that Yarde feels vindicated in the patience demonstrated by he and his trainer and manager Babatunde Ajayi.
“I’m a firm believer that when you concentrate and focus on the opinions of others, you’re always going to be at the bottom of the barrel, because people are momentary; they focus on the moment; on the here and now, and I’ve never been like that,” he explained. “I’m a firm believer in what’s meant to be is gonna be – it’s why I don’t get nervous before fights. What’s gonna be is gonna be. I’m in a fantastic position; my life’s already changed for the better. I just see it as an opportunity. Some people never get the chance; some people never get opportunity. I’m the person – my belief in God and the way my life’s gone, when the opportunity presents itself, I’m going to take it.”
November’s fight regardless represents Yarde’s first since the death, following a struggle with cancer, of his assistant trainer James Cook MBE – a development that, in turn, followed him learning that his one-time amateur coach Tony Cesay is suffering with motor neurone disease.
“I separate emotion from reality – sometimes it’s best to do that,” he said. “The guy that took me through my whole amateur career – taught me a lot about boxing – he took ill. They’re saying that he’s not gonna live another three years; another four years, and we’re all seeing him deteriorate. An icon in the amateur boxing scene and an icon among a lot of up-and-coming boxers. We all started with Tony Cesay. For someone like him who’s fit, ready, always in the gym, and a motivator – to see someone like him crumble from motor neurone disease was a shock to everybody.
“That’s something that I’ve been dealing with, and then the James Cook thing happened. It all seems like a lot right now, but I understand that you have to separate emotion from reality when you’ve got a task at hand. It’s an emotional thing.”
