Light heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde has one bout remaining on his Riyadh Season contract following his punishing defeat to David Benavidez last November. The 34-year-old suffered the fourth loss of his career in that fight, adding to previous defeats against Lyndon Arthur, Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev.
Yarde has since hinted on social media that a move up in weight could be on the horizon, but his immediate future remains tied to his existing agreement. “We’ve got another fight left, contracted with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season,” said his trainer Tunde Ajayi. “I spoke to him yesterday. But, you know, he has that in mind and he's obviously taking care of his life and training at the same time.”
Reflecting on the Benavidez fight, Ajayi admitted just how demanding the contest proved to be. “It was very, very [hard], as we know,” he said. “The only way you know how good you are is facing the absolute best. And you get good fighters, great fighters and generational fighters. To me, of all the three world title contests that Ant has been up against… Benavidez, in my opinion, is the best.”
Benavidez has since moved on to a May cruiserweight clash in Las Vegas against Zurdo Ramirez, a fight Ajayi believes has a clear outcome. “Benavidez, one million per cent,” he said. “I think everybody knows.” Ajayi went on to stress that Yarde has consistently sought elite opposition, even when others avoided those challenges.
Yarde’s career has often been defined by extremes, either facing world-level operators or opponents well below that standard. According to Ajayi, the lack of so-called “bridging fights” has never been by choice. “When we do want those bridging fights… the guys don’t want to fight us,” he explained. “Ant has always taken that challenge.”
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