Anthony Yarde has compared the power of David Benavidez and Artur Beterbiev, who stopped the Brit in rounds seven and eight of their respective contests.<\/p>\n
It was back in January 2023 when Yarde felt the full force of Beterbiev\u2019s attacks, giving a spirited effort before ultimately losing his second world title challenge.<\/p>\n
Following an eighth-round knockdown, the Ilford man was compassionately pulled out by his corner, with Beterbiev ultimately retaining his WBC, IBF and WBO titles.<\/p>\n
Yarde then secured another light-heavyweight world title shot last November, this time facing WBC champion Benavidez in a largely one-sided affair.<\/p>\n
Again, Yarde gave a gritty account of himself against a prolific knockout artist, but was eventually stopped on his feet after suffering a seventh-round knockdown.<\/p>\n
Benavidez subsequently went on to dethrone Gilberto Ramirez<\/a> last month, claiming the WBO and WBA titles with a sixth-round finish in his first cruiserweight outing.<\/p>\n But while \u2018The Mexican Monster\u2019 clearly carries destructive power, Yarde has told talkSPORT<\/a> that he felt Beterbiev landed with greater venom.<\/p>\n \u201cI fought them at different times. It\u2019s hard to say. They\u2019re just different fighters stylistically. I\u2019ll say Beterbiev was the strongest, the hardest [puncher]. Believe it or not, I\u2019m in there with Benavidez and he\u2019s whacking [me] but none of these shots are really hurting me. [He\u2019s got] very, very fast hands.\u201d<\/p>\n Having become a three-division world champion, Benavidez must now decide whether to remain at 200lbs or drop back down to 175lbs, where he still holds the WBC title.<\/p>\n Beterbiev, meanwhile, has not fought since losing his rematch with Dmitry Bivol, whose majority decision victory relieved him of his undisputed crown in February 2025.<\/p>\n