David Benavidez is set for the first defence of his WBC Light-Heavyweight World Title this November.
The undefeated 28-year-old moved up to the 175lbs division after failing to secure a shot at super-middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Since doing so, Benavidez has not put a foot wrong in the division, beating Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his debut to win the WBC Interim belt and then adding the WBA Regular strap next time out against tough David Morrell.
Benavidez was upgraded to full champion on April 7 when previously undisputed Dmitry Bivol decided to vacate the WBC belt in favour of having a trilogy bout with Artur Beterbiev.
Though ‘El Monstruo’ said he did not want to win the belt without throwing a punch, he has since promised to continue to deliver fans some of the best match-ups in the sport. His first defence was, according to the team, between Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde. The two Brits are ranked second and third respectively with the WBC.
Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh has now announced that it is Yarde who has landed the shot.
Yarde – 27‑3 with 24 KOs – recently closed out his light-heavyweight trilogy with Lyndon Arthur on April 26 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Securing a unanimous decision, the big-punching 33-year-old delivered a gritty performance – but the fight was considered dull by many fans and analysts.
Despite that, the win adds to Yarde’s momentum, bringing him to four straight victories after his 2023 defeat to Artur Beterbiev. He has previously lost to Sergey Kovalev in the other world title challenge of his career.
