Anthony Yarde, despite never winning a world title, has bravely taken on three of the best light-heavyweight fighters in the world. In a recent interview, Yarde shared his thoughts on David Benavidez, Artur Beterbiev, and Sergey Kovalev, the very same fighters he has faced and lost to in the ring.
Yarde’s most recent bout was against Benavidez, known as ‘The Mexican Monster’, who dominated the match, leading the referee to stop the fight in the seventh round to prevent further harm to Yarde. Over the past six years, Yarde has challenged all three champions for world honours, with his longest fight lasting 11 rounds against Kovalev and the shortest ending on Saturday night in Riyadh.
All three champions are renowned for their powerful punching abilities. Yarde, in a recent interview with Boxing King Media, expressed his opinion on the trio’s prowess. He praised Benavidez, stating that he has performed exceptionally well at the weight and is highly regarded. Yarde also mentioned that Benavidez never truly hurt him, except when he was hit in the nose, which caused a shock response.
When reflecting on his battle with Beterbiev, Yarde considered it his finest performance. He pushed the then-unified champion harder than anyone before, but Beterbiev still managed to stop him in the eighth round. Yarde also noted that Beterbiev did indeed hurt him, particularly with a left hook in the second round, which left him buzzing.
Despite the loss to Benavidez, Yarde’s future plans remain uncertain. Meanwhile, Benavidez is set to move up to cruiserweight for a match against the unified world champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
The question remains: who is the best of the trio? Yarde’s opinion is clear, but the boxing world will have to decide for themselves.