“The Monster” proved to be far too much for “The Beast.”
David Benavidez pummeled Anthony Yarde for a seventh-round TKO win in their DAZN pay-per-view main event Saturday evening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Benavidez retained his WBC light heavyweight championship in the process and immediately announced his plans to become a three-division titlist.
“I got some news for you guys,” Benavidez declared after the fight. “May 2, me vs. [Gilberto] ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. I’m going up to cruiserweight to challenge for his titles. I’m excited for that.”
Benavidez said his WBA and WBO cruiserweight title bout with Ramirez could take place in Las Vegas. Ramirez’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, also confirmed plans for the fight on social media. Ramirez has been linked to a warm-up fight on the Jan. 16 Alexis Rocha vs. Raul Curiel 2 undercard, possibly against Robin Safar, as the Mexican underwent shoulder surgery earlier this year.
Yarde (27-4, 24 KOs) couldn’t cope with the physicality and volume of Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs). Although the Brit had some early success with his jab and counter-punching, Benavidez aggressively pushed him onto the ropes round after round and punished him to the head, forcing Yarde to fight at a frenetic pace.
As the rounds went on, it became clear that Yarde was tiring, and that’s when Benavidez stepped on the gas. Two- and three-punch combinations became 10-punch flurries from Benavidez. In Round 7, Yarde could no longer cope with the pressure and was forced to take a knee.
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Benavidez hit Yarde with multiple shots while he was on the floor, which Yarde complained about. It cost Benavidez a point and handed Yarde some more recovery time, but it wasn’t long before Benavidez had Yarde backed up on the ropes again, as “The Monster” hammered him with hooks and uppercuts.
With Yarde eating heavy punishment and failing to respond, a powerful left hook from Benavidez convinced the referee to jump in and save Yarde from further damage.
It was Benavidez’s first stoppage win at light heavyweight. Dmitry Bivol and Benavidez are generally regarded as the No. 1 and No. 2 light heavyweights in boxing, while Jai Opetaia and Ramirez are widely considered the two best at cruiserweight. Those pairings appeared to be the natural fights to make, however now Benavidez and Ramirez are all in for an all-Mexican Cinco De Mayo showdown instead.
The best fight of the card, however, was the first championship bout of the night, between Abdullah Mason (20-0, 17 KOs) and Sam Noakes (17-1, 15 KOs). Mason defeated Noakes by unanimous decision to capture the WBO lightweight title in a 12-round back-and-forth battle, where both men were forced to go to the well on several occasions. Mason, 21, became the youngest male world champion in boxing with the victory.
Check out complete Benavidez vs. Yarde results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s round-by-round play-by-play of the main card.
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Main card
WBC light heavyweight championship: David Benavidez def. Anthony Yarde via seventh-round TKO | Watch video
Middleweight: Vito Mielnicki Jr def. Samuel Nmomah via ninth-round TKO
Super featherweight: Mohammed Alakel def. Jiaming Li via unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
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Super middleweight: Julio Porras Ruiz and Pius Mpenda fight to a unanimous draw (57-57, 57-57, 57-57)
Lightweight: Sultan Almohammed def. Umesh Chavan via first-round TKO | Watch video
Bantamweight: Juan Carlos Guerito def. Barker Ssewanyana via unanimous decision (40-35, 40-35, 40-35)
Live coverage is over76 updates
Darshan Desai
Darshan Desai
Anthony Yarde’s right eye is damaged. Nice left hand from Benavidez. Yarde’s face looks like he’s been in a 12-round war. Benavidez FLOORS Yarde with a sustained flurry in the first minute of the seventh. Yarde is up but this won’t go on much longer. Benavidez loses a point for hitting Yarde while he was down. Another powerful combination from Benavidez. Yarde is taking a lot of punishment. Punches are flying in. The referee is taking a look. Hard shots go in. AND IT’s OVER!
David Benavidez TKO-7
Darshan Desai
Yarde began Round 6 with a strong right hand. Benavidez backed up for the first time in the fight, and Yarde unloaded. Yarde holds. Right connects for Benavidez, and a left follows. Yarde is doing his best work of the fight now. Nice right from Benavidez in response, followed by a barrage of punches. Combination from Benavidez as Yarde was backed up. The difference in physical strength is telling. Left hook forces Yarde into the corner. Flurry to the body. Yarde looks troubled. Benavidez continues to unload. HARD right for the champ to end the sixth.
10-9 Benavidez, 59-55 Benavidez
Darshan Desai
A left hook and a right hand connected for Benavidez. Benavidez continues to walk Yarde down. Benavidez is hammering heavy shots onto Yarde’s guard. Yarde needs to do something different. He can’t match the physicality of Benavidez or the volume. Benavidez is having a lot of success now as Yarde is backed up on the ropes in the final minute. Yarde is starting to tire. The shots are one-and-done and are being forced out.
10-9 Benavidez, 49-46 Benavidez
Darshan Desai
Three punches from Benavidez get through, but Yarde comes back with a counter in the middle. Benavidez is going to work. Yarde is keeping him honest, though. Sharp jab lands for Benavidez, and then a fast flurry. That was eye-catching. A bit more offense from Yarde, however it was all blocked and a combination from Benavidez is the response. Benavidez barrages with a left hook to end the fouth.
10-9 Benavidez, 39-37 Benavidez
Darshan Desai
Long right hand connects for Benavidez. He is swinging into these shots and leaving himself open for counters from Yarde. Benavidez switches to southpaw. Nice body shot, followed by a left upstairs from Benavidez. Benavidez knocks Yarde’s head back with a left. Combinations follow, and then a hook for the champ. Combination from Benavidez, Yarde counters, but the firepower isn’t the same. Nice chopping right from Benavidez to end the round.
10-9 Benavidez, 29-28 Benavidez
Darshan Desai
Benavidez is swinging in hard shots as Yarde is backed up on the ropes. Right hand from Yarde through the middle. Yarde is boxing well behind the jab in this round. Left hook for Benavidez on the inside. Clean right connects for “The Monster.” Benavidez slips while trying to land a right late in the second frame. Better for Yarde.
10-9 Yarde, 19-19
Darshan Desai
It’s “The Monster” vs. “The Beast from the East.” Benavidez is the taller man and lands a left hook early. Yarde attempts a one-two, but it is blocked. It’s Benavidez on the front foot. Heavy right from Benavidez is blocked by Yarde. Nice left connects for Benavidez. Right hand over the top land for the champion. Counter right hand from Yarde as Benavidez looked to close the gap. Another counter right from Yarde landed better that time. Benavidez stabs downstairs. Nice jab upstairs for Benavidez. Right hand breaks the guard to end the opener.
10-9 Benavidez
Darshan Desai
It’s main event time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Darshan Desai
Ring walks coming up now.
Darshan Desai
David Benavidez makes the first defense of his WBC light heavyweight title against two-time title challenger Anthony Yarde.
Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) twice held the WBC super middleweight title between 2017 to 2020, but lost it outside the ring on both occasions. After picking up the WBC interim title against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June 2024, Benavidez had to get off the floor to defeat the WBA (Regular) champion David Morrell in a thriller in February.
Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) is a former two-time light heavyweight title challenger. The Brit was stopped in both championship attempts: by Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and by Beterbiev in 2023. Yarde was last in action when he edged Lyndon Arthur to lead their rivalry, 2-1.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – NOVEMBER 21: David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde face off ahead of their WBC and WBA World Light Heavyweight Titles fight as part of the Ring IV: Night of the Champions Fight Night at Boulevard Riyadh City Square 2 on November 21, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
(Richard Pelham via Getty Images)
Darshan Desai
Devin Haney defeats Brian Norman Jr. by unanimous decision (114-113, 117-110, 116-111) to win the WBO welterweight title. Haney becomes a three-division world champion.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – NOVEMBER 22: (L-R) Brian Norman Jr. is knocked down by Devin Haney in a WBO world welterweight title fight during Ring IV: Night of the Champions at ANB Arena on November 22, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
(Richard Pelham via Getty Images)
Darshan Desai
Three minutes to go, and Norman surely needs a KO. Right hand from Haney chops down on Norman’s chin. Good work on the inside for Norman with a combination. Norman is landing on the body as Haney attempts to clinch up close. A lot of holding. Norman’s work isn’t landing clean because of the wrestling tactics from Haney on the inside.
10-9 Norman, 115-112 Haney
Darshan Desai
Round 10 was a close one; Norman edged it for Uncrowned. Norman was told in the corner inbetween Rounds 10 and 11 that he should go for broke, perhaps insinuating that they think they are behind on the scorecards.
Haney has done very little in the second half of this fight. A lot of holding and clinching in this penultimate round. Conor Benn is pretending to be asleep at ringside. A couple of jabs from Haney. Norman tries to break the gap, but Haney holds onto him as they get close. Norman’s work is being smothered.
10-9 Haney, 106-102 Haney
Darshan Desai
A pair of left hands from Norman catches Haney around the two-minute mark. He’s connecting with hooks/straight lefts after leading with the right. It’s been a low-output fight, and so one or two key moments in a round are decisive, and Norman is finding those moments in the last couple of frames.
10-9 Norman, 87-83 Haney
Darshan Desai
Straight punches are getting through the guard from Norman. Haney was forced into a corner of the ring with that combination. Sharp jab from Haney in the final minute. Nice jab from Haney again. Haney is controlling proceedings with the left hand in the final minute after a good start from Norman.
10-9 Norman, 78-73 Haney
Darshan Desai
Into the second half of this contest, and Norman is close to “needing a KO to win” territory.
Nice left hook from Haney buzzes Norman. He jumped in with the hook. One-two goes Haney and Norman nods his head in acknowledgement.
Counter hook from Haney partially connects with Norman at the halfway point. Norman has been neutralized. Power jab for Norman found a home. Norman attempted to shovel up with an uppercut on the inside. He is forcing the pressure a bit more now.
10-9 Haney, 69-63 Haney
Darshan Desai
Trio of lefts from Norman back Haney up, but nothing lands clean. Haney circles back to the center. One-two from Haney drove Norman back. Good combination from Haney. The feeling here is that if Haney lets his hands go, he can hurt and stop Norman. Another one-two hammers down on Norman. Brilliant offensive work from Haney mixed with the defensive prowess that has made him so good.
10-9 Haney, 49-45 Haney
Darshan Desai
Strong jab from Haney drove Norman backward in the opening minute of Round 4. Again, Haney lands the jab. Back comes Norman with a shot hook. Power jab knocks Norman’s head back. Another counter hook from Haney was attempted as Norman tried to break the gap. Brilliant left-hand work from Haney since the knockdown. Jab downstairs from Norman to end the round.
10-9 Haney, 39-36 Haney
Darshan Desai
I don’t think anybody expected Haney to be landing the more damaging punches in this fight and to be rocking Norman like that.
Nice jab from Haney. Norman comes back with a left hook. Haney walks Norman onto a short, chopping right. This is a low-output fight. Both guys are looking to land big punches rather than be active. A bit of a jab battle late in Round 3. Tight round.
