The bout between David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde is reportedly set for November on the Riyadh Season card. The contest, pitting the former two-division champion from Phoenix, AZ against the British former two-time title challenger, joins the previously reported title fight between Brian Norman and Devin Haney.
Unbeaten Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) was in action in February, scoring a unanimous decision over David Morrell. With the victory, the 28-year-old retained his interim WBC light heavyweight belt and landed the “regular” WBA strap.
Benavidez was elevated to full WBC champion at 175 lbs after Dmitry Bivol relinquished the title.
Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) has won four fights in a row since suffering an eighth-round TKO loss to Artur Beterbiev in his bid to claim the unified light heavyweight titles in early 2023. Earlier in his career, the London native fell short via 11th-round TKO against Sergey Kovalev in his attempt to win the division’s WBO strap. In his previous outing in April, the 33-year-old scored a unanimous decision over Lyndon Arthur.
According to Ring Magazine, citing Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s Minister and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, the bout between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes is also set for the event. The matchup is expected to crown a new WBO lightweight champion.
The WBO belt at 135 lbs recently became vacant after Keyshawn Davis was stripped of the title due to missing weight ahead of his defense against Edwin De Los Santos early last month.
Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) of Bedford, Ohio is fresh off a fifth-round TKO win over Jeremia Nakathila in June. Noakes (23-1, 17 KOs) of the UK stopped Patrik Balaz in the third round in May.
The first announced fight for the event features WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (28-0, 22 KOs) of Decatur, GA against former two-weight champion Devin Haney (32-0, 1 NC) of San Francisco, CA.
Norman made his second successful defense in June, defeating Jin Sasaki by knockout in the fifth round. Haney returned to the ring in May, taking a unanimous decision over Jose Ramirez.
Event details, including venue, exact date, and broadcast information, are expected to be confirmed shortly.