A huge crowd filled the ANB Arena in Riyadh as David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde met for the WBC light heavyweight title. The atmosphere was intense from the start, with fans waiting to see if Benavidez would continue his rise at 175 or if Yarde could pull off the upset in the Middle East.
David Benavidez kept his unbeaten record with a seventh-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde. Benavidez pressed the action from the early rounds and eventually dropped Yarde in the seventh with a series of punches along the ropes. A point was deducted from Benavidez for hitting Yarde while he was down, but once the fight resumed he trapped Yarde again and forced a referee stoppage at 1:59 of the round. Yarde was bloodied and fading by the time the fight was waved off.
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In the co-feature, Devin Haney defeated Brian Norman Jr. by unanimous decision in a messy, clinch-heavy fight for the WBO welterweight title. Haney scored an early knockdown in round two, then spent most of the remaining rounds tying up Norman and moving around the ring. Norman landed the cleaner punches in many exchanges, but the judges sided with Haney by scores of 114–113, 117–110, and 116–111.
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A major unification took place at super flyweight as Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez scored a 10th-round knockout of Fernando “Puma” Martinez to win three belts at 115 lbs. Martinez started strong with heavy shots in the early rounds, but Rodriguez adjusted, used his speed, and took control from round four onward. In the tenth, Martinez opened aggressively, but Rodriguez answered with a clean left hand that dropped him hard and ended the fight at 1:25.
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In a battle for the vacant WBO lightweight title, Abdullah Mason remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision win over Sam Noakes. Both fighters exchanged heavy punches across twelve competitive rounds, and Noakes battled through cuts and a bloody nose. Mason landed the sharper work late in rounds and secured the decision with scores of 117–111, 115–113, and 115–113.
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Middleweight contender Vito Mielnicki Jr. earned a ninth-round TKO over previously undefeated Samuel Nmomah to claim the WBO Global title. Mielnicki hurt Nmomah several times throughout the fight and finally dropped him with a right hand in round nine. Nmomah rose to his feet but looked unsteady, leading the referee to stop the bout at 2:09.
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Image Credit: Queensberry Promotions