David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde betting tips: A ‘Monster’ and a ‘Beast’ collide in the ring

David ‘The Monster’ Benavidez makes his first defence as WBC and WBA light-heavyweight champion to Anthony ‘The Beast from the East’ Yarde at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, live on DAZN.

The event titled ‘Night of Champions’ also sees another Briton joining Yarde in a quest to claim a world title, as Maidstone’s Sam Noakes clashes with American Abdullah Mason for the vacant WBO world lightweight title.

Love boxing? Find the best boxing betting sites and bet with welcome bonuses today.

Both Brits go into their respective fights as underdogs and up against it. The Mexican-American Benavidez was already a WBC world champion at super-middleweight, twice losing the title, but never losing it in the ring.

Londoner Yarde has challenged twice before for world honours, each time his run ended early.

But he was bravely battling boxing’s most formidable world champions at the time, Artur Beterviev in 2023 and Sergey Kovalev in 2019, so the tough Englishman is no stranger to facing adversity.

You can check out our fight night specials and prop bets ahead of the main event, but stick around here as we break down where the bout could be won and lost. 

David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde: Grand Arrivals 

Tale of the tape: David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde

David Benavidez: A world champion who charges like a “Red Flag” to a bull

The 28-year-old Mexican-American David Benavidez is unbeaten in 30 professional bouts and has never lost a world title in the ring.

Firstly, the youngest ever super-middleweight champion in history, aged 20 years and eight months, buckled under the burdens of being a world champion when only just out of his teens, testing positive for cocaine in a random drug test.

Then he lost his second green and gold belt on the scales during the unusual pandemic period where fighters were placed in a ‘bubble’, away from their teams.

In both cases, he wised up; served his four-month suspension in 2018 and since passed all drug tests, and is now operating up a division where he is more comfortable. Understanding where you fit in the wide array of boxing weight classes is crucial to both the fighters as well as bettors when making your plays.

Although he has already beaten the likes of Roamer Alexis Angulo, Anthony Dirrell, David Lemieux, Caleb Plant, Demetrius Andrade and Oleksandr Gvozdyk, it was his last fight where he really stepped up and excelled.

His dominant, decisive victory over WBA light-heavyweight champion David Morrell secured his seat at the top table of the sport, now rated #9 in The Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound rankings, just above Canelo.

This is not only the first defence of his WBC and WBA light-heavyweight titles, it’s also the first chance for him to earn the green and gold belt legitimately after his interim strap was upgraded to the absolute championship when Dmitry Bivol vacated.

Lastly, it’s also a voluntary defence, so he willingly accepted the challenge to face the powerful puncher, known as ‘The Beast from the East’.

Anthony Yarde: Third time’s a charm?

Two-time world title contender, Yarde, will be hoping to crack it on his third and, most likely, last attempt at a world championship.

Both his prior challenges were plucky and impressive. Firstly, the man who is constantly yelling, “Lions in the camp!”, travelled to the lion’s den in Russia to challenge the WBO light-heavyweight champion, Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev in 2019.

Despite agonizingly coming just a punch or two away from stopping the Russian in round eight, he soon found himself gassed after emptying the tank and eventually felled in the 11th.

His next attempt was even pluckier as he took on ‘King Artur’ in his home city of London in 2023. Knockout artist Artur Beterbiev was 18-0 with 18 KOs at the time and the only world champion with a perfect record of all wins, all knockouts.

Yarde gave as good as he got, visibly hurting the Canadian-based Russian a few times and causing him to get on his bike. But every time he would recover quickly and get back to business. Yarde went down once in the eighth round, forcing long-term trainer and close friend, Tunde Ajayi, to mercifully pull him out.

In between those world title defeats, Yarde also lost to fellow Brit, Lyndon Arthur, on points in 2020. It came during the uncertain Covid times, where Anthony sadly lost family members to the pandemic. 

You could see in his performance that he was too angry, impatient and overwrought, just walking his man down trying to land something spiteful and hurtful, and consequently picked off cleverly by a superior reach and snappy jab.

He avenged the loss a year later via fourth-round knockout, then again in his last fight, via unanimous decision, both times with his head screwed on again.

That last fight and valuable 12 rounds banked came in April and made it four wins in four. Yarde has beaten some good British and European opponents during his 10-year career, but has fallen short at world level.

But he has had his moments against the world’s best and this is potentially the last moment he is ever going to get, now aged 34, so he is going to do what he has always done and that’s to go for it! 

No one rolls the dice quite like Yarde does.

David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde: The key factors 

A ‘Monster’ and a ‘Beast’ enclosed in a high-stakes duel will mean only one thing – fireworks!

It’s a little late in November to celebrate Bonfire Night, but there will be sparks flying in the desert when these two light-heavyweight powerhouses lock horns. It’s almost certain not to go the distance.

Neither one is likely to start slow. Even if Yarde is contemplating on reserving his energy for the later rounds, if he chooses to start technical and tentative, popping out the jab, he will still be forced to fight from the very first bell.

Benavidez likes to engage at mid-range and he constantly finds his opponents backed up to the ropes courtesy of his intelligent, controlled aggression.

Yarde will likely be the one backed up and countering, and he will do well in those situations, but whenever he lands big and clean, you can just foresee Benavidez smiling back and calling him on.

If Benavidez smothers Yarde right from the start, then the three-time contender may not make it to the second half of the contest, depending on how much early pressure the American applies. 

He will set the pace high and stalk his prey, so it’s all depending on whether Yarde can deal with or negate that. It will take a lot of intelligence and energy.

The Londoner does use his jab and cover up his head well with a high guard at times, but he’s not known for moving his head or being elusive. 

He has always been a hittable target, but the sculptured slugger can really dig, especially with those big hooks and uppercuts in close range.

If Benavidez gets into his preferred range and rhythm, then Yarde is going to be involved in a battle from the first rounds onwards, where his best shot is to cover up and counter in explosive flurries.

Yarde has a real chance of winning this fight by KO, as we’ve seen Benavidez hit the deck before, but it’s more likely that ‘The Monster’ will be the one causing nightmares.

In short, two powerful punchers like this will almost certainly not be able to engage as much as they are likely to and make it to the final bell, so one of these will fall, but who?

FIRST.com’s top tip - David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde

David Benavidez is likely to be too strong, tough, aggressive and fit to stop Anthony Yarde in the second half of the contest. Currently, Ladbrokes have a round 7 KO from DB at 10/1.

Pick: David Benavidez to win by KO in round 7 - 10/1 (Ladbrokes)

Extra tips 

If ‘The Monster’, also known as ‘Red Flag’ for his bullish tendencies, applied early aggression and pressure turned up to the fullest, then he could secure a knockout in rounds 1-6.

Pick: David Benavidez to win by KO in rounds 1-6 - 14/5 (Ladbrokes)

If you want to go with your heart and back a Briton, then look to Sam Noakes, 28 from Kent, to defeat Abdullah Mason. 

Noakes has 15 KOs from 17 wins, and Mason boasts 17 from 19, so they are two powerful lightweights, but which one will overpower the other? Back the Brit Noakes to stop Mason at 9/2 with Ladbrokes.

Pick: Sam Noakes to stop Abdullah Mason - 9/2 (Ladbrokes)

Responsible gambling with FIRST.com

You must be 18+ to gamble. Gambling is a form of entertainment, not a way to make money. Our tips and advice help you enjoy gambling, but there is always a chance a bet or casino game can lose.

Never bet more than you can afford to lose. Stop betting if you are angry, emotional or under the influence of alcohol.

Warning signs of problem gambling: chasing losses, betting money needed for bills, or feeling unable to stop.

Need help? Visit our responsible sports betting page or our responsible casino gambling page, or contact the support organisations listed below if you're struggling to control your gambling:

Gamblers Anonymous UK

BeGambleAware

GAMSTOP

National Gambling Support Network

Gamcare

NHS National Gambling Clinic

Odds correct at the time of writing.