David Benavidez was a knockout machine during a super middleweight run that netted two titles.
But at 175 pounds, the WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) hasn’t been able to drop or stop Oleksandr Gvozdyk or
David Morrell in competitive unanimous decision wins.
Ahead of his
title defense Saturday in Saudi Arabia against Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) to headline "The Ring IV: Night of the Champions" on
DAZN PPV (UK: £24.99; US: $59.99), Benavidez is boasting that the bout will end with a violent stoppage.
“I'm trying to knock him out and hurt him. It's going to be a great fight,” Benavidez told reporters. “Once I establish the jab, everything else is going to open up on its own. My opponents don't block my body shots too well, so that is one of my keys. It's going to be my job to mix it in there. I feel like my body shots are what's going to cause the most damage.”
Benavidez,
The Ring's No. 2-ranked fighter at 175 pounds, last fought in February against Morrell and even suffered a flash knockdown. But he immediately bounced right back up and walked down the crafty Cuban to land the victory.
Benavidez, who also has wins against former title holders David Lemieux, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade, was angling to fight either
Dmitry Bivol or
Artur Beterbiev and even cruiserweight champions Jai Opetaia and Gilberto Ramirez. Instead, he got the task of taking on the former two-time title challenger Yarde.
Yarde is rated No. 4 by The Ring in the light heavyweight division.
“I'm excited to have the opportunity to fight for Riyadh Season,” said Benavidez. “I'm the main event on a fire card, and this is an event I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Hopefully, that can be a home for me too, and I can go back and forth fighting in the United States.
“The No. 1 target is the belts and me beating the top five fighters at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. I'm trying to be the best version of myself and go down in history.
“I just want to prove to the people that I am the best in the world. I’ll go through whoever. It doesn’t matter to me.”
The Ring IV: Night of the Champions takes place on Saturday, November 22 and will stream live on DAZN PPV from 3pm ET/8pm GMT. Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan