David Benavidez defends his WBC Light Heavyweight World title against Anthony Yarde at the top of the bill of the Ring IV card in Riyadh, with Devin Haney challenging for Brian Norman Jr‘s WBO Welterweight World title as the co-main event. Boxing News brings you the results as they happen, as well as an unofficial scorecard for the main event.
Benavidez enters his third contest at 175lbs and makes his first defence of his belt since being upgraded to full champion after Dmitry Bivol vacated. He looks to keep his undefeated record in tact against Yarde, who has been a career-long light-heavy and is now in his third world title challenge, having previously fallen short against Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev.
Former undisputed lightweight world champion Haney, who also held a title at super lightweight, looks to make it three divisions against hard-hitting champion Norman Jr, who steps into the ring on a three-fight knockout streak. On the rest of the card, Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes battle it out for the vacant WBO lightweight belt and Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez defends his WBC and WBO super flyweight straps against WBA champion Fernando Martinez.
Undercard results
Abdullah Mason vs Sam Noakes — lightweight
Result: Abdullah Mason prevails via unanimous decision with the scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113 to become the sport’s youngest male world champion. Exactly the sort of fight you want to see for a vacant world title. A war. It was precision and athleticism on Mason’s side versus tenacity and aggression from Noakes — who was hampered by a cut early on from an accidental head clash — but both men showed incredible grit and impressive power. At points it was the battle of the body shots, and Mason may have disregarded some of his advantages for entertainment value. High praise for both men. A rematch would be welcomed.
Jesse Rodriguez vs Fernando Martinez — super flyweight
Result: Jesse Rodriguez adds the WBA belt to his collection via 10th round knockout. A beatdown from ‘Bam’, who showed levels against ‘Puma’ Martinez, breaking him down before landing a beautiful left to close the show. The 25-year-old proves his pound-for-pound credentials once again.
Brian Norman Jr vs Devin Haney — welterweight
Result: Devin Haney wins via unanimous decision, landing a knockdown shot in the second on the way to scores of 114-113, 117-110 and 116-111. Given the narrative around his confidence and the arrival at a new weight class, Haney’s performance was one of the most significant of his career so far. He looked at home at welterweight, and was a step ahead of Norman Jr throughout. The knockdown was a sweet moment for a man who is often accused of having no power, but timing is everything and he has that in spades. Ultimately, a world class jab paved the way to becoming a three-weight world champion.
David Benavidez vs Anthony Yarde — light heavyweight
This is a Boxing News live scorecard and not the official score from the judges.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benavidez | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 59 | ||||||
| Yarde | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 55 |
Result: David Benavidez stops Anthony Yarde in the seventh to retain his WBC Light Heavyweight World title. The fight was not the shootout from the first both men had promised, with respect shown for the other’s power. Benavidez, however, began to move up the gears in the third, throwing blistering and bloodying combinations. The last minute of the sixth was torrid for Yarde, and the seventh no better. He was put down in the corner and stopped on his feet not long after. A ruthless Benavidez scores his first stoppage at 175lbs and continues to impress and entertain at the top level.
