David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde Keys to Victory: Breaking down tactics of each fighter

David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde have kept it respectful through this buildup toward their fight.

But that is about to change tonight when Benavidez puts his WBC light heavyweight world title on the line against Yarde in the headliner of Ring IV: Night of Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and live on DAZN Pay-Per-View. The two 175 pounders are expecting an action-packed fight filled with fireworks.

Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) produced a unanimous decision over David Morrell in an exciting fight back in February, while Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) last defeated Lyndon Arthur in their trilogy bout in April.

Will Benavidez look every bit of ‘El Monstro’ in destroying Yarde? Or will Yarde’s third time trying to become a light heavyweight world champ be the charm in his biggest win yet?

DAZN News analyzes the Keys to Victory for both the undefeated champ and his durable challenger entering tonight’s fight.

David Benavidez’ Keys to Victory

Split Yarde’s guard

David Benavidez’ high-volume punching often begins with him splitting opponents’ guards.

Once fighters feel the nasty sting of a left-handed jab or straight right piercing through their guards, Benavidez feels empowered to let his hands go in a variety of ways as he is able to freely dip into his deep bag of punches.

Yarde possesses a flexible, high guard but Benavidez can certainly use his brand of prodding blows to punch through it.

Throw the liver shot

Watching the way Benavidez mixes a liver shot into his pieced-together combinations is truly a sight to behold.

Just ask David Morrell.

It was commonplace in that fight for Benavidez to unleash an uppercut, follow it with a slashing right hook and throw a distraction right jab before slinging a whiplashing liver shot.

Landing this shot against Yarde could slow down the British light heavyweight veteran and leave him ripe for something more devastating.

Crank the uppercut

Benavidez has a penchant of brushing shorter opponents back with uppercuts which he detonates with either hand.

Doing this against Yarde could frustrate the gutsy challenger as he will be forced to reset each time the weapon lands.

The force that Benavidez generates with the shot could be a major key in ‘El Monstro’ ending the year with a bang and paving the way for possible talks with Dmitry Bivol to begin for an undisputed showdown at 175 pounds in 2026.

Anthony Yarde

Assert the jab

Yarde has a solid jab that he likes to pepper opponents with before letting heavier artillery go.

Benavidez does a great job of catching and shooting so Yarde will have to show education on the stick, though he should still attempt to establish the jab early.

Detonate the right hook

Benavidez has a habit of abandoning his guard at times to the point where his hands are dangling even below waist level.

If Yarde senses sequences like that, he should detonate the right hook. It might be his best weapon to work toward the grand upset.

Morrell used the very shot to drop an unsuspecting Benavidez with a flash knockdown in the 11^th round of their fight.

Perhaps Yarde would have a similar chance with a surprising right hook of his own.

Keep up with Benavidez’ volume cautiously

Against more opponents than not, Benavidez forces fighters to walk through the fire of his unrelenting high output of punches.

Yarde is already an action-packed fighter and will not back down from such an invite, though he must use caution and discretion.

He needs to let his hands go to keep up with Benavidez’ high volume of punching but cannot afford to get erratic while doing so — especially on the inside.

One mistake while exchanging fire and Benavidez’ piercing shots will make him pay, leaving Yarde 0-for-3 in world title fights.