Benavidez vs. Yarde: The bloody Brit was stopped in the seventh of his world title challenge

British heavyweight Anthony Yarde’s third shot at a world title once again ended sadly after a systematic defeat at the hands of WBC champion David Benavidez in Saudi Arabia.

After a slow start, American Benavidez took control, sending the 34-year-old Yarde to the plate with a barrage of strikes in the seventh.

With blood pouring from Yarde’s nose and staining the canvas, another heavy flurry of punches with a minute left in the round forced the referee to stop the bout.

“I’m stuck in there. I’m a fighter,” Yarde told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I felt like it was competitive. I know how he handles good pressure. I was boxing, boxing, thinking about the middle rounds, the dog rounds, where we would take turns.

“He has quick hands. He caught me first and hit me with a good shot on the nose. When I got down on my knees and he hit me when I was on the ground, I felt dizzy after that.”

Benavidez was deducted two points for punches while Yarde was down, but the result was already inevitable.

The Londoner – who has previously lost in world championship matches to Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and Artur Beterbiev in 2022 – may have to accept the possibility that the world title may elude him.

Benavidez (28 years old) has not suffered any defeat and extends his record to 25 knockouts in 31 victories.

After the fight, Benavidez – who is of Mexican descent – revealed his plans to move up to cruiserweight to challenge Mexican Gilberto Ramirez for the WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles on May 2, with the goal of becoming a three-weight world champion.