Many in the know are tooting this upcoming weekend’s fight card the best of the year. From Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and broadcast live on DAZN Pay-Per-View the night is headlined by the current WBA and WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez (30-0, 24KO) defending his newly acquired title against Brit Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24KO).
If that fight wasn’t enough, a tough test for Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona, the card also features two more world title fights. The first features former world champion Devin Haney (32-0, 15KO) making his debut at welterweight and challenging the WBO champion Brian Norman Jr (28-0, 22KO) while the second stars the top ten pound for pound fighter Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (22-0, 15KO) defending his WBC and WBO world super flyweight titles against current WBA champion Fernando “Puma” Martinez (18-0, 9KO).
After reigning over the super middleweight division for years and for many the true champion of the 168-pounds since Saul “Canelo” Alvarez refused to face him, Benavidez jumped up the seven pounds to 175 in the summer of 2024. He defeated former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC interim title and then faced David Morrell earlier this year to capture the WBA version.
In the 34-year-old Yarde he will be facing an experienced fighter who has been at this stage plenty times before although with unfavorable results. In 2019 he lost to Sergey Kovalev in a challenge for the WBO title. Four years later he faced Artur Beterbiev for all the titles but came up short again, this time via 8th round TKO.
Is Yarde good enough to be beat Benavidez?
I don’t think so. Yarde is good enough to beat the rest but not the champions and Benavidez is a proven champion.
San Francisco, CA’s Haney’s road to this night has not been as smooth.
Back in April of 2024, Haney was handed a complete beatdown by controversial Ryan Garcia. Haney met the canvas three times en route to the first loss of his career. Unfortunately for Garcia, he came up positive for an illegal substance and the result was changed to a no-contest.
Since then, Haney earned a unanimous decision over Jose Ramirez. Along with Ramirez, Haney does have some big names on his resume. Haney, 27, has wins over Yuriorkis Gamboa, Jorge Linares, Vasyl Lomachenko and Regis Prograis.
Norman Jr’s record is not nearly as extensive but Norman Jr is considered a hard-hitting dangerous champion and will be real challenge for the fragile-chinned Haney.
The best fighter of the night is Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. His skills are impeccable and is considered one of the ten best fighters in the world. In only 22 fights, Rodriguez has captured multiple titles while completely dominating several former champions like Carlos Cuadras, Sunny Edwards, Juan Francisco Estrada and Pedro Guevara.
Martinez of Argentina is known for his aggressiveness while earned wins over the likes of Jerwin Ancajas and Kazuto Ioka twice.
Other Musings
- In their much-anticipated rematch, Conor Benn defeated a weight drained Chris Eubank Jr via unanimous decision this past Saturday in London. Eubank Jr was dropped twice in the 12th.
- There is major talk Jake Paul will face Anthony Joshua in a December fight on Netflix. Eddie Hearn, promotor for Joshua, says the former heavyweight champion is scheduled for February and not against Paul.
- Golden Boy Promotions’ Oscar De La Hoya says his main goal for 2026 is to bring big time boxing back to the United States and away from the Middle East. He plans for major fights in Los Angeles but especially in Las Vegas in the first trimester of the year.
