David Benavidez has vowed to "dominate" Anthony Yarde after completing the hardest training camp of his 12-year career to date.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), The Ring’s No. 2 light heavyweight, puts his WBC title on the line against Ring No. 3 Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) in the main event at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night

The pair addressed the media during Thursday’s final press conference and both promised fireworks at the top of bill of The Ring IV: Night of the Champions in one of the most fan-friendly fights available at 175 pounds.

However, Benavidez insists he is not expecting an even fight with Yarde, the Englishman challenging for the world title for a third time.

He said: “I’m looking to dominate, but whatever happens I’m ready for it. If it turns into a war then I’m going to turn into a war but I’ll definitely dominate.

"This is the hardest I’ve trained out of any of my fights. I’m going to go in there and give you guys a war.

“I’m definitely not overlooking him and I’ve never overlooked anybody. That’s why I’m in the position I’m in now. I’ve given Anthony all the respect he deserves and I’ve studied him for a long, long time. I’m extremely ready for this fight and for what he brings to the table.

“I’ve had my eye on Anthony Yarde for a long, long time and I know he’s a great fighter. He has a lot of heart and a lot of power. What I like about Anthony Yarde is whoever he is up against he is there to make it a great fight.

“Me, I like to make the fights I’m in a war. I want to give fans the action-packed fights they want to see. I’ve had a great training camp and I’ve trained extremely hard. This fight will live up to the moment.”

Yarde was stopped in his two previous world title attempts, against Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and Artur Beterbiev in 2023. This time he says his confidence has been boosted by the personal invitation from Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.

“I keep hearing this saying that 'three times is a charm' or 'third time lucky,'” Yarde said with a smile.

“I don’t believe in luck but I feel like I’m a better fighter now with more experience. I feel like this is my time, my moment. Turki called me personally because he wanted me for this fight, he wanted entertainment. There were other fighters in the hat but he said the way we fight, it’s inevitable it’s going to be a clash of the titans. Stylistically I think this fight ends in a knockout.

“I feel like this is the best version of me. I always said I didn’t want an easy route because there’s people that go and win vacant titles, nothing against them, but I’ve always said I want to beat someone like David Benavidez. That’s why I went to Russia and challenged Kovalev. I know the risk.

“Everyone was telling me not to go to Russia but I said, 'I’m going.' Then with Beterbiev, everyone is saying this guy is a monster, don’t fight this guy. I said, 'Give me him, I’ll fight him.' I don’t care who it is because for me, the better the fighter I’m against, the better the reward. It’s about legacy.”

At welterweight, WBO champion Brian Norman puts his title on the line against Devin Haney in the chief support.

And Norman, The Ring’s No. 1 at 147 pounds, says he will ensure their fight does not go the distance, either.

“There’s only so far he can go,” Norman said. “We’re in a box. No matter whether he runs or he stands there, the boy is going to sleep.

“I can win by any means necessary. If I want to go to the cards I can do that. If I want to knock him out, I’m definitely going to do that anyway. It’s me stamping my name in the game.”

But Haney laughed off suggestions that he is going to run against noted puncher Norman, who set up this clash with one of the Knockouts of the Year in his fight with Jin Sasaki in June.

Said Haney: “We fight everybody differently. This is not my first rodeo. I fought Jose Carlos Ramirez different to how I fought [Vasiliy] Lomachenko and Lomachenko different to how I fought Regis [Prograis]. The world has got to see what gameplan me and my team has drawn up and how I’m going to beat this guy. I think he’s a great fighter.”