Error code: %{errorCode}
In defence of Anthony Yarde – Boxing’s nearly man
Few boxing stories are as compelling as that of a fighter who comes close to the summit again and again without quite reaching it.
Anthony Yarde - having previously lost in world title fights to Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and Artur Beterbiev in 2022 – again fell short against WBC champion David Benavidez in Saudi Arabia over the weekend and may now have to accept (privately at least) that a world championship might elude him.
The Londoner keeps getting within touching distance of a world belt only to watch it slip through his gloves like a soap bar in the showers. Three times now he has boxed for the championship of the world. And three times he has walked back to the locker room empty handed, with his blood-stained gloves heavy from the weight of what might have been.
In his first title fight, Yarde fought with the raw fire of a man chasing destiny. He went to Russia as an unknown and nearly pulled it off in a frantic round eight where he had Kovalev in all sorts of trouble. However, the veteran Russian regrouped and used his experience and guile eventually stop the brave challenger in the penultimate stanza in Chelyabinsk.
In 2022 he went to war with fearsome WBO, WBC and IBF light-heavyweight champion Beterbiev. In another back-and-forth battle notable for its ferocity, Yarde again had his moments before ultimately being stopped in round eight.
On Saturday Team Yarde were hoping it would be third time lucky against Benavidez, but in the end the Englishman simply had no answer for the accuracy and power of ‘The Mexican Monster.’
Benevidez fights with the energy of a caffeinated squirrel. He was too young, too busy and too good for Yarde in claiming a seventh-round TKO win in their DAZN pay-per-view main event in Riyadh.
El Bandera Roja, 28, remains unbeaten and the win extends his record to a formidable 31 straight wins, with 25 stoppages. He might just be that guy.
It was exciting fight that bordered on the surreal at times. There was a point in the contest where Benavidez hit Yarde with 18 straight punches with the left hand - while holding him behind his head with the right hand - and ref Hector Afu (who was fully 90cm away) let it happen.
To be fair to Afu, he got the stoppage right in round seven. Yarde’s stamina is his kryptonite. He has an amazing physique, but the Londoner has fast twitch muscle fibres meaning he's explosive and quick but not built with endurance in mind. Alas, regardless of who trains you, there is no way around genetics. And it wasn’t just a case of him gassing on Saturday. He was marked up badly, and Benevidez was really digging in heavy shots to head and body in the moments before it was waved off.
Queensberry/Leigh Dawney
After his latest defeat, the naysayers online were out in force to blame Tunde Ajayi. Yarde’s 51-year-old trainer – who is cut from the same ‘hype man’ cloth as Muhammad Ali’s legendary spirit coach Drew ‘Bundini’ Brown - has been with him since the start and in truth is a bit of an easy target.
It’s easy to blame Tunde, a man who exudes confidence and who is never short of a quote or two. “Violence moves in silence,” Tunde said in an IFL interview this week when asked how they are going to pull off the upset, paraphrasing a lyric from fallen East Coast gangsta rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
“Lions in the camp” is another catchphrase you hear time and again, but you get the feeling that this phrase is deeper – and more meaningful - than just words to both men. Yarde calls Tunde “Uncs” and has displayed a loyalty towards his trainer that is so rare in such a high-profile boxing career that has rarely run smoothly.
Lions form strong, loyal bonds within their pride, which is a rare trait among big cats who are otherwise solitary predators.
There was no amateur career to speak of with Yarde. What was it? 12 fights? Therefore, there is an argument to say the pair have overachieved. OK, Yarde has lost to the top guys, but he has made a good living. His handlers understood his limitations and he was a couple of punches from the promised land vs. Kovalev.
In hindsight, leaving and then rejoining Frank Warren didn’t do him any good in terms of career momentum. The promotional merry go round will have been unsettling, but there are still big domestic fights out there for him against the likes of fellow Londoner Joshua Buatsi or Liverpool’s Callum Smith should he choose to carry on.
However, he is 27-4 (24) now and there are definitely miles on the clock at the age of 34. Indeed, the last time he looked really on it was in his rematch with Lyndon Arthur and that was way back in 2021.
Fighters who can’t let go of boxing are a lot like heavy drinkers who can’t let go of the booze. First, it’s fun. Then fun with problems. Then just problems.
If he retires after this Benavidez shellacking, then how will history remember him? He had the innate talent to be a world champ, but it would have been interesting if he had picked up boxing earlier in life as it is so hard to reach the pinnacle with such a limited amateur background.
Stick him in another era and he may well have picked up a world belt. What we can say is that Yarde has done an amazing job with the hand he has been dealt. The Londoner is a fighter who earned every opportunity he received. But world championship boxing is notoriously unforgiving. Its margins are razor thin. He may never own a big four belt. But if it’s any consolation, he has certainly earned the respect of those who understand this sport.
If boxing handed out belts for perseverance, bravery, effort and cojones, Yarde would already be a world champion. The fact it does not will likely define his career.
Watch Whittaker vs. Gavazi with a DAZN subscription
Ben Whittaker makes his Matchroom debut against Benjamin Gavazi exclusively on DAZN. Watch with a subscription, monthly and annual options available.
